Steamboat School

When a Missouri law shuts down a school for Black students, one boy must find a path to bravery in this award-winning picture book, based on a true story of resilience.

James wasn’t excited to go to school—everything outside was loud and exciting, but the classroom was dark and dreary. Luckily, his teacher Reverend John Meacham wasn’t so bad. He shared stories about being enslaved, buying his freedom, and building a life.

“We make our own light here,” he said.

Until the day the school wa...