These Hands

Mason, Margaret H. These Hands.
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper.
Joseph's grandfather tells him about all of the things that he can do with his hands, from shuffling cards to playing piano. One of the things his hands were not allowed to do was to touch the bread at a Wonder Bread factory. African-American workers were only allowed to do cleaning and maintenance, NOT touch the bread because then white customers wouldn't want to eat it. The book then details how people worked to change this and other rules and laws so that today Joseph's hands are allowed to do everything of which they are capable. Nicely illustrated and written, this showcases how unfair rules filter down to even the smallest tasks that children today might not consider.