Julius Lester Books In Order

Publication Order of Uncle Remus Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Children's Books

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Jerry Pinkney as Illustrator Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Julius Lester was an American author who wrote children’s books, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. During his career he was awarded with the Newberry Honor Medal. He also had his books listed as The New York Times Outstanding Book, National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, American Library Association Notable Book, National Jewish Book Award Finalist, and a National Book Award Finalist.

In addition to his work as an author, Lester was also a musician who recorded two albums. He was also an activist in civil rights. Julius was born in 1939 in St. Louis Missouri. His family would later move to Nashville where he would receive his BA from Fisk University. He majored in English and minored in Art and Spanish. After college, Lester would move to New York City where he performed as a folk singer and also worked as a photographer. He recorded two albums of original songs and folk music during his music career.

Lester was involved in SNCC, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and he participated in 1964 Mississippi Summer Project His experiences formed the basis of the 2014 documentary, The Folk Singer. During his time in New York he also hosted a radio show called Uncle Tom’s Cabin and co-hosted another show called Free Time.

In 1966, Lester wrote the essay “The Angry Children of Malcolm X” which is considered by many to be one of the definitive African-American statements of the time. This gained him a reputation which lead to him writing Look Out, Whitey! Black Power’s Gon’ Get Your Mama! in 1968. At the time he called it the first book about black power to be written from someone inside of the movement. As opposed to an intellectual outside of it commenting on it.

Lester became an associate professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1975 and then become a full professor in 1977. He would stay at the university into the end of his career in 2003. He taught courses in multiple departments in his career, including Comparative Literature, Afro-American Studies, English, History, and Judaic Studies. During his career, Julius earned the university’s most prestigious awards: Distinguished Teacher’s Award, the Faculty Fellowship Award for Distinguished Research and Scholarship, and the Chancellor’s Medal. He was also named as the Massachusetts State Professor of the Year in 1986.

Despite all of his incredible output, the first book that Lester wrote was actually an instructional guide to playing the 12-string guitar that he co-authored with Pete Seeger. On top of his books, he also published more than 200 essays and book and film reviews. He wrote for publications such as The New York Times Book Review, The Boston Globe, The New Republic, and Village Voice.

Lester passed away in 2018 at the age of 78.

Day of Tears is a novel about a real footnote in history. On March 2nd and 3rd, 1859, the largest slave auction in American history took place. The event happened in Savannah, Georgia and more than four hundred slaves were sold on that day. The weather on those days was nonstop rain and it didn’t stop until the auction ended which led people to saying that the auction was a weeping time. Julius takes this premise and makes an incredible story out of it. The story includes many characters, including Emma, a slave, and her owner, Pierce. Emma is his daughters’ caretaker and she tries to teach them to have kind hearts. However, Pierce has debts that he needs to get right and decides to host the largest slave auction in American history.

Guardian is one of Julius Lester’s most poignant novels, a tale of what happens when one group of people is able to take away the humanity of another group of people. Ansel is just fourteen-years-old, but he knows what is right and what is true. However, it can often be dangerous to choose honesty so he chooses to stay silent. An innocent man dies which leaves Ansel feeling the burden of that decision.

Do Lord Remember Me is another novel from Lester. Reverend Joshua Smith Sr. is known in the South as the Singing Evangelist and one white reporter has coined him “the Colored Billy Graham”. The reverend is in a fieldstone house in Nashville composing his own obituary on the day which will be the last of his life. The book follows the Reverend as he looks back at his life from beginning to end, from his childhood in Mississippi to the civil rights movement, and from humiliation to triumph.

And All Our Wounds Forgiven is Lester’s re-envisioning of the Martin Luther King Jr. story. The story follows a man named John Calvin Marshall who graduates from Harvard in 1965 and is prepared to enter into a life of teaching. However, history has other plans for him. Marshall becomes a leader who wants to move his people and others to change their minds, but he also must deal with his own impulses along the way. Lester paints a human portrait of his character in this story.

When Dad Killed Mom is the story of Jenna and Jeremy, two siblings who lost their mother. They each knew that their parents’ marriage as in trouble, but they could have never predicted what ended up happening with them. The two are in school when they are pulled from class and told their father shot their mother. With mom dead and dad in jail, the two are left to pick up the pieces. The children are being drawn apart and they are overwhelmed in their grief, anger, confusion, and guilt. The children find their new lives in free fall as their father is about to stand trial. The book is filled with raw and honest emotions. It can be a bit disturbing to read with such heavy subject matter, but the story is well written and explores the relationships between parents and their children.