This Blackboard bestseller about making it on your own--despite the mistakes of your past--will appeal to fans of Terry McMillan and Lolita Files.

SYNOPSIS Say Hello to Satin Doll is an exciting new novel that will take you on a journey back through the events of World War II as seen through the eyes of a group of African-American pilots and crewmen trained at Tuskegee Army Flying School. Bursting with action and high adventure, Say Hello to Satin Doll is a nostalgic and heart-warming story of the famous 332nd Fighter group known as the ?REDTAILS?. Here is a powerful story of unwavering courage under fire. Here too is a story of family, strong friendships and true romance. The adventure begins during the summer of 1943 in the torrid desert region of North Africa. Ricky DeWitt and the rest of the men of the all Black 99th Fighter Squadron, get their first taste of aerial combat over the Italian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. After his first few months of combat, Ricky is shot down and wounded. After he parachutes into the sea, a British war ship rescues Ricky. While recovering from his wounds in Morocco he meets PJ Keller, a white U.S. Air Corps pilot and they form a solid and uncommon friendship. Together they discover a number of new ways to exploit their black and white partnership and play against the ridged segregated society of that time. Ricky, PJ, and their many exceptional friends, take you along on a tempestuous but magnificent excursion that will carry them from romance among the stars in Hollywood, to the closing battles in the skies over Europe and beyond. Amos Smith?s first novel is written with such a visual flair that you will experience Europe during the war years first hand. It will place you smack in the middle of all the action, in both the battle against the Nazis as well as the wartime home front during the swing and jazz era of the 1940?s. Say Hello to Satin Doll is the story about the Tuskegee Airmen everyone has been waiting to read!

(Berklee Guide). Play jazz ukulele! Learn the essential theory, concepts, and techniques to perform jazz. This book will help you to understand and play jazz harmonies and tension substitutions, and the principles for improvisation and accompanying other musicians. It includes traditional notation and tablature, and also introduces additional types of notation common in jazz. The accompanying online audio lets you hear the concepts and then practice them along with a jazz combo. By the end of the book, you will be able to play jazz ukulele in ensemble and solo settings.

One of the first women's organizations to mask and perform during Mardi Gras, the Million Dollar Baby Dolls redefined the New Orleans carnival tradition. Tracing their origins from Storyville-era brothels and dance halls to their re-emergence in post-Katrina New Orleans, author Kim Marie Vaz uncovers the fascinating history of the "raddy-walking, shake-dancing, cigar-smoking, money-flinging" ladies who strutted their way into a predominantly male establishment. The Baby Dolls formed around 1912 as an organization of African American women who used their profits from working in New Orleans's red-light district to compete with other Black prostitutes on Mardi Gras. Part of this event involved the tradition of masking, in which carnival groups create a collective identity through costuming. Their baby doll costumes -- short satin dresses, stockings with garters, and bonnets -- set against a bold and provocative public behavior not only exploited stereotypes but also empowered and made visible an otherwise marginalized female demographic. Over time, different neighborhoods adopted the Baby Doll tradition, stirring the creative imagination of Black women and men across New Orleans, from the downtown Trem area to the uptown community of Mahalia Jackson. Vaz follows the Baby Doll phenomenon through one hundred years with photos, articles, and interviews and concludes with the birth of contemporary groups, emphasizing these organizations' crucial contribution to Louisiana's cultural history.

Designer Jess Brown is known for her irresistible, starry-eyed rag dolls. In this inspiring book, Brown shares a custom pattern and simple instructions to sew, personalize, and accessorize your own rag doll. Illustrating the story behind these dolls, the book places emphasis on natural materials, vintage fabrics, beautiful notions, and quality craftsmanship. Make the dolls for the children—of all ages—in your life to love now and cherish for decades. After making the doll, follow Brown's patterns for darling accessories such as an apron, overcoat, and knickers.

Volume II of this two-volume set traces the artist's life and career month by month from the orchestra's return from an extended European tour in June 1950, to Ellington's death in 1974. Jazz historian and graphic designer Vail presents b & w photographs, newspaper reports, advertisements, reviews, and brief diary-type entries; he includes all known club, concert, theater, television, film, and jam sessions, as well as a selected list of recordings. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

(back panel) Hannah and Henry sing " "Bye-Bye Diapers!" " Hannah and Henry are two happy kids with an exciting story to tell--and they want to share it with little boys and girls everywhere! They're graduating from diapers and learning to use the potty. Toddlers can follow along with their growing-up adventure . . . and then use this package's miniature doll and toy potty to reenact Hannah's or Henry's potty training story as part of their own potty training program. Kids will have fun as they learn to use the potty with their "Bye-Bye Diapers Potty Pack"--and Moms and Dads will love it too. Check this package's bottom panel for complete list of potty training items inside (bottom panel) Hannah's Bye-Bye Diapers Potty Pack Featuring The Potty Book & DVD for Girls Hannah Doll Teddy Bear & Potty"