Dear Reader/Instructor, While compiling this glossary, I found myself amused at the language and spellings and expect you may be, as well. However, I want you to know I am very serious regarding this endeavor. I feel The Magic Pencil will reach even the most recalcitrant of learners. The book is "sneakily didactic" wherein many life lessons will be imparted in an entertaining way. My overall intent is to get youth engaged by providing characters with whom they can identify. The Black Language Glossary is designed to help those who may not understand some of what Malcolm and other characters are saying. At first, I thought it wouldn't be necessary but after imagining a well-meaning "uninitiated" instructor being so vulnerable, I decided to release what I had created before publishing The Magic Pencil novel in 2009. I call this book Black Language Glossary because there is truly a black language that has been in use for centuries. It has its own rules, sounds, and consistencies. One should not view it as the slang of the times. Slang changes with the times - keeping the language fresh - but it does not change its roots. Not much of the "slanguage" has morphed since I wrote the novel - proving my contention that black language's roots are traditional, old, and deep. Keep in mind that many black people choose to use the language and are usually quite capable of speaking otherwise. Just as many choose not to use it but may understand it, regardless. Inflection, movement and body language play a huge part in the visually, aurally, and emotionally charged use of black language. Of course, this glossary barely touches upon the vastness of the language but it will get you through The Magic Pencil and perhaps pique your interest to learn more. It may help to remember Mark Twain's excellent ear for the different ways characters spoke in his stories, or to know that Shakespeare was writing for the 'common folk', and to pay closer attention to the ways other cultures code switch in the United States as well as around the world. Black language is as legitimate as any other as long as it is being used by someone. The slang blended with it sets trends and bends into new words that are gobbled up by the mainstream and 'spit' back to its creators and others, who continue to develop more...and the cycle repeats. It is my intention that you are able to make full use of these books. The Magic Pencil novel, its Curriculum Guide, and Glossary are timely and stimulating for the way our world has been impacted by different cultures. Using these three books will allow you, the educator, to discover depths your learners may have yet to reveal. With mirror books to window books: Help our youth see and soar Karen E. Dabney October 9, 2012 Ain't no half-steppin