Tonya Bolden

Books by This Author

Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Book

African American family near a classic car with suitcases
Illustrated by: Eric Velasquez
Age Level: 6-9, 9-12

As a mail carrier, Victor Hugo Green traveled across New Jersey every day. But with Jim Crow laws enforcing segregation since the late 1800s, traveling as a Black person in the US could be stressful, even dangerous. So in the 1930s, Victor created a guide — The Negro Motorist Green-Book — compiling information on where to go and what places to avoid so that Black travelers could have a safe and pleasant time.

The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music

Illustration of young Roberta Flack sitting at a piano
Illustrated by: Hayden Goodman
Age Level: 6-9

Growing up in a Blue Ridge mountain town, little Roberta didn't have fancy clothes or expensive toys...but she did have music. And she dreamed of having her own piano. When her daddy spies an old, beat-up upright piano in a junkyard, he knows he can make his daughter's dream come true. He brings it home, cleans and tunes it, and paints it a grassy green. And soon the little girl has an instrument to practice on, and a new dream to reach for — one that will lead to her becoming a legend in the music industry.