Eleanora E TateEleanora E. Tate was born in Missouri, where The Minstrel's Melody takes place. Of her ten books, her newest is Celeste's Harlem Renaissance, a recipient of the AAUW North Carolina Book Award for Juvenile Literature and the IRA Teacher' Choice award. The Minstrel's Melody is a Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. Tate's other books include The Secret of Gumbo Grove (a Parents' Choice Award winner); Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!; and Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School.

Ms. Tate is a former president of the National Association of Black Storytellers and a winner of the 1999 Zora Neale Hurston Award. Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous magazines, including American Girl and Scholastic Storyworks. She teaches at Hamline University and at the Institute of Children's Literature. Visit her website at www.eleanoraetate.com. Read More Read Less