PICTURE BOOKS
Smalls, Irene

Don't Say Ain't

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Colin Bootman. In 1957, a bright African-American girl starts attending an "advanced school" to get a better education. In the somewhat didactic story, Dana learns how to fit in at her new school and still keep her old friends; she also figures out when to use Standard English and when to use "Black English." While the illustrations are occasionally awkward, they capture the story's many moods.

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