We’ve Got a Job

Title: We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March
Author: Cynthia Levinson
ISBN: 9781561456277
Pages: 176 pages
Publisher/Date: Peachtree Publishers, c2012
Awards: Finalist for The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction (2013)

Though nonviolent, all of these confrontations were illegal. King reasoned that if enough protesters were arrested, they would fill the jails and overwhelm Connor’s ability to enforce segregation laws. […] Only a few hundred adults heard Bevel’s frenzied sermon that night, and just seventeen volunteered to go to jail. But kids got the message, especially when the preacher who followed Bevel proclaimed, “Some of these students say they have got to go to school, but they will get more education in five days in the City Jail than they will get in five months in a segregated school.” (48, 59)

Segregation in the 1960s was a violent time of upheaval. Most of us have heard the most familiar stories of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. But very few people may realize the effect that children and teens had in moving segregation efforts forward. During the entire month of April, 1963, the first in an effort to fill the jails and bring attention to the cause, only 123 people were arrested. But then a rallying cry and concentrated effort was made to enlist teenagers to a cause that would directly affect them. “Between Thursday, May 2, and Monday, May 6, almost 2,500 young people had been arrested.” (114) The treatment of these individuals, some as young as nine-years old, who flooded the streets brought national attention to events in the south. Ultimately, four children died in a church bombing that was the culmination of tensions between the black and white populations.

Cynthia Levinson spent four years tracking down and interviewing these participants and researching how history played out almost 50 years ago. Including a map, a timeline, an index, pictures of those interviewed and an assortment of notes, this book is an amazing glimpse into a time that changed America. Levinson does a thorough job of bringing to life the actions of the teenagers but also those of the adults involved. Readers finish the book with a solid understanding of how divided not only the community was on the issue of segregation, but also how disorganized the leadership was in achieving their goals. The government endorsed and encouraged the police’s prejudices against these protesters and it is hard to come to terms with their behavior based on today’s laws prohibiting such actions. At one point, government officials notified the Ku Klux Klan that they would be given 15 minutes to confront Freedom Riders, and the perpetrators who were caught after those violent fifteen minutes were given a minimal sentence.

Pair this book with The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine, which is set a few years earlier or The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, which are both set a few years later. Especially in this unsteady time when unrest is reigning and emotions are high with so many political issues, including gay rights, immigration, and gun control, teens might take notes about nonviolent actions that they can use to affect change in today’s society.

This post is in honor of Nonfiction Mondays. For the entire round-up of all the bloggers who participated, check out Anastasia Suen’s blog.

This book in particular was read as I participate in YALSA’s 2013 Hub Reading Challenge which challenges readers to finish 25 books by June 22nd from a list of 83 titles that were recognized and published over the last year.

Me and Momma and Big John

Title: Me and Momma and Big John
Author: Mara Rockliff
Illustrator: William Low
ISBN: 9780763643591
Pages: unpaged
Publisher/Date: Candlewick Press, c2012.

This slight story features a mother and her three children. Told from the perspective of her oldest son named John, the book makes readers aware of his mother’s job carving stones for the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City. Also called “Big John” and “Saint John the Unfinished”, a afterward more detailed than the actual story talks about how the building of this cathedral has taken over a century and still isn’t completed. Construction was halted for both World Wars and didn’t begin again until forty years later. After resuming construction in 1982 with a program to teach skills to the unemployed which lasted twenty-five years, construction today is again halted due to lack of funds. Even under a temporary roof that probably feels more permanent to the community that utilizes the unfinished structure, people still gather for services and shelter. The illustrations by William Low are appropriately grand in scale, showcasing the size through the use of aerial shots and sweeping landscapes, but I half-expected something more detailed, like David Macaulay’s work. The jacket cover description also makes mention of being “inspired by one of the first women in the United States to learn the traditional craft of stonecutting,” which is not even mentioned much less detailed within the pages. In fact, there are few details about the trade, the history of the building, or information about the family contained in the actual tale.

Overall, I wanted more.

The Lions of Little Rock

Title: The Lions of Little Rock
Author: Kristin Levine
Narrator: Julia Whelan
ISBN: 9780399256448 (hardcover), 9780307968807 (audiobook)
Pages: 298 pages
Discs/CDs: 7 CDs, 8 hours and 23 minutes
Publisher/Date: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an Imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., c2012. (audiobook by Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group)
Publication Date: January 5, 2012

“So what did Miss Taylor say to you?” JT asked.
I shook my head.
“She said Liz isn’t coming back to West Side,” reported Nora, peering over the top of her glasses. “I was standing by the door and heard her. She said Liz is real sick. But I don’t think that’s true, because Liz was in school last Friday and she was fine.”
JT thought for a moment. “My cousin got the stomach flu last week. That can come on real sudden.”
“Yes, but that only lasts a few days,” said Nora.
“Liz isn’t coming back because she’s a Negro,” said Sally.
We all turned to look at her. (62)

Before meeting Liz, twelve-year-old Marlee didn’t have a lot of friends because she didn’t talk to anyone except for her family or her old friend Sally. But her family starts talking less and less as tensions are running high in Marlee’s household, with her parents on different sides of the debate regarding integrating the Little Rock schools. Liz reminded her so much of her older sister that she just felt comfortable talking to her, and Liz started encouraging her to speak up more at school. Then Liz vanishes from school, and the rumor mill is swirling that Liz was actually a light-skinned African-American, sneaking into school and passing for a white girl in order to get a better education. With tempers flaring in this city and acts of violence threatening, Marlee realizes she must pick a side and speak up if she’s going to prevent disaster from striking her or Liz.

This book reads like a younger version of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. It brings the issue of integration and segregation to a level that kids understand, and sheds light on a period of time that even Levine recognizes in her author’s note is not talked about. “When I was in elementary school, my own education about the civil rights era was sketchy at best, but even I learned about the Little Rock Nine. [...] On the other hand, I had never heard of schools being closed to prevent integration, even though I later learned it had happened in my very own state of Virginia as well.” (292-293) I’ve mentioned several times that I enjoy “based-on-a-true story” type books, which I think is why I enjoy historical fiction so much when it’s set around little known events. It’s a fun way for me to learn about history and serves as a launching point to discover more, and I think other readers would agree.

Levine stays true to the era with language, which I appreciate when an author doesn’t cheapen the story by not using culturally significant words, like “Negro” and the not so nice term for African-Americans. I realize my not using it might look contradictory to some readers, but I don’t need to use the word to lend historical accuracy to a story, which is how Levine uses it. I absolutely love the front of the hardcover, featuring the black and white birds, both of which play a role in the story. While I know there’s lots of talk out there about white-washing covers and not portraying actual photographs of minorities on covers, I think the cover implies the tone of the story that can be found on its pages. The paperback version does have a photograph looking cover (I haven’t seen it in person, and it’s hard to tell by this graphic), but I think it makes the book look intended for younger audiences, which I don’t think would be right. Marlee is a seventh grader in the story, and things do get somewhat violent towards the end, so I would whole heartedly recommend it for middle schoolers but would probably hesitate to go younger. However, I do know some people who would argue that there was no audience filter on the events as they were happening, so why should we filter what they read since they would have experienced it first hand if they had been there. Obviously it’s your call as to who you recommend this book.

All the characters in the book are multi-faceted and very accurately portrayed. The time they are growing up in and the issues they are facing are not simple, and it’s refreshing to see so many characters realistically grappling with their lives. Marlee’s evolution is slow but steady, and we see enough glimpses of her during the school year to witness her thought-process and how major events influence her decision-making. Liz is bold and intelligent, and it’s no wonder that Marlee is pulled towards this new girl packing so much personality and self-assurance. Although told time and again that it would be dangerous to remain friends, just like typical teens they don’t recognize that danger and refuse to heed warnings until it’s almost too late. I want to also recognize the parents of both girls in this novel who work jobs and are out of the house but are far from absent or removed from the situation. Their thoughts and feelings grow, evolve, and change as the situation changes and the school closings continue to stretch on indefinitely with no answer in sight. They discipline their daughters but also support them, worry over their safety, and try their best to be involved and encourage what’s best in their children’s lives.

I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention Julie Whelan’s narration, which is spot-on. It probably helps that the book is told from Marlee’s perspective, which limits the rare male voices to a meager half-dozen at most. Readers get swept away by the story and don’t notice the time passing until you have to change discs. I waited a long time to read this, but you shouldn’t. Put this on every recommended book list you can, whether it is a list of historical fiction, African-American fiction, amazing audiobooks or simply friendship or school stories. It’s a heartfelt, memorable, and eye-opening account of friendship in tough circumstances during a period of time that strongly affected the people who lived through it. The story will stay with you for some time after you’re done reading it, making it a strong contender for reading group discussion.

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass

Title: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship
Author: Russell Freedman
ISBN: 9780547385624
Pages: 119 pages
Publisher/Date: Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, c2012.

Douglass and Lincoln had never met, but they had some things in common. They had both risen from poverty and obscurity to international prominence. Both were self-educated. Lincoln, born dirt poor, had less than a year of formal schooling. Douglass, born a slave, wasn’t permitted to go to school. He taught himself to read and write in secret, hiding the few books he was able to get his hands on. And in fact, the two men had read and studied some of the same books.
Even so, in the year 1863 it required plenty of ‘nerve,’ as Douglass put it, for a black man to walk unannounced into the White House and request an audience with the president. [...]
He was determined to wait. (3)

Describing the relationship that Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had as a friendship might be hard for us to believe, considering they only met each other three times. But since some friendships these days are formed solely through digital communication means like the phone and the Internet, it might not be so hard for people to accept this description as I might think. In this book, Russell Freedman returns to his roots. Having already written a Newbery Medal winning photobiography about Lincoln, I can only imagine the resources he has at his disposal to investigate the relationship between Lincoln and Douglass.

But really the book isn’t just about those three meetings. It covers Lincoln’s and Douglass’s lives before they met up to Lincoln’s assassination. The unique part about this book is it discusses the evolution of Lincoln’s thoughts about slavery. Most students only learn about the Emancipation Proclamation and that Lincoln was against slavery. Freedman’s book shows that Lincoln’s actions and beliefs were never that black and white (pardon the pun). Lincoln maintained during the early part of the war that his only goal was to restore the Union, and didn’t end up issuing the Emancipation Proclamation until over a year into the war. He appears to be a political strategist from the beginning, and he always hesitated before slowly enstating further liberties for African-Americans because of his fear of the public’s response. Douglass had so such fears, and actually fled the country twice to avoid the public backlash against him and his beliefs.

While I can see it being added to numerous African-American History Month reading lists, students will probably have to consult other sources in order to get a complete view of these two influential men and the circumstances that brought them together.

This post is in honor of Nonfiction Mondays. For the entire round-up of all the bloggers who participated, check out Jennifer Wharton over at Jean Little Library.

Meet Marie-Grace and Cecile

Title: Meet Marie Grace
Series: American Girl Cecile and Marie Grace, book 1
Author: Sarah Masters Buckey
Illustrator: Christine Kornacki
ISBN: 9781593696511
Pages: 105 pages
Publisher/Date: American Girl Publishing, Inc., c2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Title: Meet Cecile
Series: American Girl Cecile and Marie Grace, book 2
Author: Denise Lewis Patrick
Illustrator: Christine Kornacki
ISBN: 9781593696603
Pages: 109 pages
Publisher/Date: American Girl Publishing, Inc., c2011.

Marie-Grace Gardner has just returned to New Orleans, the place of her birth, after moving around for several years with her doctor father after the death of her mother and baby brother from disease. New Orleans is different from everywhere else she has lived, and the sights, sounds, tastes and smells are overwhelming. Some residents even speak French, a different language that shy Marie-Grace struggles to understand. She slowly becomes friends with Cecile Rey, an outspoken African-American girl who has lived in New Orleans her entire life. Cecile longs for her brother to return from studying overseas, but stays busy taking music lessons from Mademoiselle Oceane, who also teaches Marie-Grace. The two girls become fast friends, and an unexpected adventure during Mardi Gras brings them closer together as they share a secret that could get them in trouble.

Honestly, I was severely disappointed with the series after reading these first two books. I think the American Girl Company wasted an opportunity here, because the two books tell almost the exact same story, even though one is from Marie-Grace’s perspective and one is from Cecil’s point of view. Entire portions of dialogue are copied and pasted from the first book to the second, and very little happens as we “meet” the two girls. I remember reading the American Girl series when I was younger and being thrilled with the little glimpses into history and the different adventures that the girls got into. I know of school groups that base their monthly meetings around a different girl. But this just felt like a marketing ploy to me, like they somehow ran out of things the girls could do. The descriptions of the other books leave the impression that there will be more, and obviously people are going to buy the set as opposed to leaving one out. The other thing that really bugs me is that it’s only a year after Kristen’s books take place, which breaks the pattern that they have set for themself of having at least a decade between the girls. It could have been done intentionally for comparison purposes, but I am just surprised in this change.

WHEW! Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I did like the fact that we have some bilingual characters in the mix of American Girl options. I also appreciated the fresh perspective of wealthy and well-to-do African-Americans who were never slaves, since all too frequently we only view the slave perspective in pre-Civil War books about African-Americans. Cecile’s well-educated family, who actually employs servants and owns their own successful business, introduces readers to a whole new world. And as always, the last couple pages make up the “Looking Back” insert, separating fact from fiction. The pronunciation guide included in the back is much appreciated for non-French speakers. Bravo for the overall concept that begins with a rather rocky start. Hopefully they’ll redeem themselves in future books.

Ghetto Cowboy

Title: Ghetto Cowboy
Author: G. Neri
Illustrator: Jesse Joshua Watson
ISBN: 9780763649227
Pages: 218 pages
Publisher/Date: Candlewick Press, c2011.
Publication Date: August 9, 2011

The front door’s open. I walk in and the first thing I smell is . . . horses? I ain’t never smelled a horse before, never even saw one up close before a few minutes ago. But if a horse got a smell, I think this is it, ’cause that’s all that’s in here: horse stuff. A coupla old saddles, blankets, brushes, work boots, horse things like you see on TV. Instead of furniture, there’s even them square things of hay to sit on.
This ain’t no house–it’s a barn.
To top it off, there a big ol’ hole from floor to ceiling knocked into the side of the living room, leading into the place next door, like he just wanted to epand his crib and took over the abandoned one next to his.
I peek inside the hole, but its dark ’cause all the windows is boarded up. But man, it really smells like animal in there. Suddenly, something big moves in the dark, and I jump back.
“That’s Lightning,” says Harper.
My eyes adjust to a pair of dark eyes staring back at me.
It’s a horse. He got a horse in the house.
No wonder Mom left him. (22-23)

Fed up with Cole’s behavior, skipping school and getting into trouble, his mother drives him through the night to Philadelphia, to the house of the father he’s never met. Cole isn’t sure which parent is crazier, his mother for doing this to him or his father for claiming to be a cowboy and caring for horses out of a rundown stable in an abandoned lot. But Cole realizes that his father isn’t the only crazy one, as he quickly meets the rest of the black cowboys trying to maintain country lifestyles in the city. Will the fight for the horses finally bring Cole and his father together, or just drive them farther apart?

I’m always up for a good “based on a true story” book, and this is no different. G. Neri does a great job with the dialogue and urban dialect without going overboard with language that would force it into the teen area. I could still see teens enjoying this book, especially the reluctant/struggling/hi-lo readers. The conversations and flow is typical of everyday speech patterns, which makes it a very fast and easy read. But the relationships are what make it compelling, as we see that not everything is black and white. Cole’s father probably says it best when explaining that the city has turned some people against them, while other city people are glad that the horses provide an alternative activity for youth besides gangs. Cole realizes the complexity of the issue when he finds out that Cole’s father is even friends with a cop who used to stable a horse in the city.

This seems to be an ongoing issue, with no cut and dry answers. Neri respects that struggle by not giving his own story a cut and dry happy ending. Even with the epilogue, the characters still have their own battles to fight, but it in no way makes the ending any less satisfying. This is a book ready-made for discussion, with Mr. Neri providing websites, videos, and even a discussion packet on his own website, http://gregneri.com/cowboy.html that teachers and librarians should really check out. Looking through some of the news stories, you can tell that the author did his research and based some of the events in the book on actual events in the Federation of Black Cowboys history and experience. Although I read the physical book, and the illustrations are phenomenal, the audiobook did receive an Odyssey Honor Award and an AudioFile Earphones Award, so I guess that format would be just as impressive.

Heart and Soul

Title: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
Author/Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
ISBN: 9780061730740
Pages: 108 pages
Publisher/Date: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, c2011.
Awards: Won Coretta Scot King Author Award, 2012
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, 2012

Most folks my age and complexion don’t speak much about the past. Sometimes it’s just too hard to talk about–nothing we like to share with you young folk. No parent wants to tell a child that he was once a slave and made to do another man’s bidding. Or that she had to swallow her pride and take what she was given, even though she knew it wasn’t fair. Our story is chock-full of things like this. Things that might make you cringe, or feel angry. But there are also parts that will make you proud, or even laugh a little. You gotta take the good with the bad, I guess. You have to know where you come from so you can move forward.” (7)

Just as the subtitle says, this is the story of America and African Americans. Narrated by a family matriarch, she takes readers back in time to her grandfather’s time, when he was taken on a slave ship to serve on a plantation, and proceeds to tell her family’s story all the way to present day. Covering the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, both World Wars and the Great Depression, she concludes with the Civil Rights marches and an epilogue that discusses the accomplishments that movement brought.

Kadir Nelson’s work is a force to be reckoned with. He has been recognized by the Coretta Scott King Book Award Committee a total of five times, but I think this surpasses everything I’ve seen of his. The book is formatted and designed to mimic a photo album, with the cover artwork framed out with scrollwork. The double page spreads primarily consist of one full-page picture and a page of corresponding text. Generous white space, short chapters, and the conversational tone make the book a very quick read, and readers will feel like their listening to their own grandmother telling the story of her youth.

You’ll really need to go through it a second time to truly appreciate the detailed artwork, ranging from unoccupied landscapes to crowded scenes. Nelson even includes imitations of some iconic portraits like Martin Luther King’s Jr. address on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Interspersed throughout the book are a handful of double page illustrations that really bring readers to a halt. The book could be called a pictorial history book or narrative nonfiction, but in any case it’s a stunning portrayal of history.

This post is in honor of Nonfiction Mondays. For the entire round-up of all the bloggers who participated, check out publishers Capstone over at Capstone Connect.

The Other Half of My Heart

Title: The Other Half of My Heart
Author: Sundee T. Frazier
ISBN: 9780385734400
Pages: 296 pages
Publisher/Date: Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., c2010.

The location of their birth got them on the evening news all across the country, but what got just as much attention, if not more, was something else.
Something they’d been told all their lives didn’t really mean anything.
Same Mama and Daddy. Born seven minutes apart in the back of their daddy’s plane.
But Keira, with her dark curly hair and cinnamon-brown skin, was black, like their mama, while Minni, with her reddish blond hair and milky pale skin, was white, like their daddy. At least that was what the articles on the Internet said.
One-in-a-million twins. [...]
She asked Mama once, “Am I just white? Or am I black, too?” because when she looked at her pale skin next to her sister’s nad Mama’s rich brown, it sure was hard to see how she could be called black.
“Of course you are,” Mama said, not really answering her question. (6-7)

It’s hard to believe that Minerva (also known as Minni) and Keira King are sisters, much less twin sisters. With a white father and an African-American mother, Minni takes after her father, while Keira takes after her mother. Although they don’t like the stares or questions they receive from strangers, they have come to accept their chessboard family. This peace is shattered when their Southern grandmother enrolls them in the Miss Black Pearl Preteen of America pageant. While the other contestants are questioning whether Minni is black enough to participate, Minni’s lighter skin is admired by her grandmother, which further ostracize the girls from each other. Minni’s left wondering if this is how Keira feels all the time in their primarily white neighborhood, while Keira maintains that Minni can’t possibly understand what it’s like. Can the girls come to grips with their own unique beauty?

The Other Half of my Heart by Sundee T. Frazier will warm both sides of your heart and make you question what it really means to say “beauty is only skin deep”. The emotions are palpable as Minni and Keira try to understand the other one’s position. That’s the amazing thing about this book, is that neither girl wants sympathy, they just want people to recognize and acknowledge that they might be feeling these emotions. Their inability to express themselves and accept the other’s empathy leads to misunderstandings that get patched up at the end, but I wonder if there were any lasting effects due to their realization of their differences. It’s surprising of their naivety regarding their differences before the pageant.

I’m a little concerned however, because the emphasis is so squarely placed on the girls identifying with their African-American culture/heritage/tradition. What about their white half? I can only imagine how the girls’ father must feel about the twins exclusively pursuing their blackness with such intent. Why must they choose black, instead of assuming a bi-racial identity? Maybe it’s just because I’m white, but I don’t say my family is only from one country. If someone asks what I am, I mention the countries that both sides of the family originated from. I thought bi-racial people would do the same. That’s really my one qualm about the book.

One Crazy Summer

Title: One Crazy Summer
Author: Rita Williams-Garcia
ISBN: 97800607960885
Pages: 218 pages
Publisher/Date: Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, c2010.

“We were a block away from the green stucco house, chatting and laughing. Then we stopped walking. All three of us. There were three police cars parked outside of Cecile’s house. One in the driveway and two along the curb. Policemen lined the walk. Lights flashed on top of their cars onto the streets. Red, white, and blue lights everywhere. We inched up, the happiness knocked out of us.
Cecile and two Black Panthers. Hands behind their backs. Handcuffed. Being led out of the house and down the walkway. I could hardly breathe. (167)

Eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters are being placed on a plane for the first time. Leaving behind their father and maternal grandmother in Brooklyn, they’re forced to spend several weeks of their summer in Oakland, California with Cecile, the mother who abandoned them seven years ago. Cecile is about as happy as her children with the arranged visit. Their mother sends the sisters to a summer camp sponsored by the Black Panthers, where they receive a whole new education about black history and pride. When Cecile is arrested for her involvement with the group, will Delphine, Vonetta and Fern continue to fend for themselves? Or will they finally learn the benefits of having their mother in their life again?

I know some colleagues who have remarked that the experiences the girls go through and especially Delphine’s reactions to the situations seem too advanced for her tender eleven years old. But others have argued that her circumstances have forced her to grow up early, and it’s nice to see a child of questionable upbringing rise to the challenge and take responsibility for not only herself but her younger siblings. It’s overcoming adversity at it’s best. Regardless of how you feel about her circumstances and reactions, it’s impressive how Delphine is able to observe and process her surroundings. Even her uninterested mother comments at the end of the book that Delphine should “Be eleven while you can.” (210)

I have a coworker using this book for her next mother/daughter book group, which I think is a really good choice because of the mature themes of the Civil Rights Movement. Delphine asks some powerful questions regarding the events of that time. There is the story of Bobby Hutton, who was shot multiple times by police two days after Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. The Black Panthers are planning a rally in order to honor Bobby Hutton and urge the renaming of a park in his honor. Delphine observes

“Wouldn’t Little Bobby rather be alive than be remembered? Wouldn’t he rather be sitting out in the park than have the park named after him? I wanted to watch the news. Not be in it. The more I thought about it, the more I had my answer.” (133)

The settings and environment are brought to life by Rita Williams-Garcia’s vivid descriptions. When the girls leave for California, Delphine counts how many black people are in the airport, and informs readers that her grandmother expects the oldest black woman boarding the plane to look out for her grandchildren. Also, Delphine relates her awareness of racism and the novelty of her race to some people when she talks about strangers trying to take pictures of her and her sisters. While on the plane she recognizes that they are serving as representatives for the entire race in a way that white people don’t have to worry about.

While it’s a thought-provoking book, I didn’t fall in love with it the way everyone else seems to be embracing it. In one year, this book has won four, yes FOUR, awards.

• 2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner
• 2011 Newbery Honor Book
• 2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction
• 2010 National Book Award Finalist

You’ll see in the picture that there’s barely enough room on the cover for all the awards stickers that it’s received. I just think that adults might get more out of it than the audience it’s geared for, with the focus being on such an abstract political movement. There are other books with the identity “what’s-in-a-name” focus that I think might ring truer for the younger set. And while there are a very small number of books that deal with the Black Panthers for this age group, I hope that’s not influencing people’s opinions of the book.

Wonder Horse

Title: Wonder Horse: The True Story of the World’s Smartest Horse
Author: Emily Arnold McCully
ISBN: 9780805087932
Pages: Picture Book
Publisher/Date: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, c2010.

Born Bill Key a slave on a plantation in 1833, “Doc” Key’s way with animals soon became well-known. An Arabian mare that he saved from a circus whipping soon gave birth to a homely horse. Named Jim Key, Doc recognized how smart his horse was after he opened the drawer the apples were kept, ate them all, and then shut the drawer. Curious how smart the horse really was, Doc taught him to recognize letters, colors, and simple math. Wanting to spread his message that animals have feelings and require kindness, Doc took his show on the road and had Jim perform for audiences. But was it all a hoax, as one newspaper questioned, that an uneducated former slave could teach an animal all these things?

I had never heard of Jim or Doc Key, and I thoroughly enjoy finding these unknown stories to share with others. Caldecott Award winning author and illustrator Emily Arnold McCully expounds on what few facts we have regarding this story in an author’s note after the story. Featuring a photo of Doc and Jim, you see how accurately she portrayed the couple in her artwork. I thought she did a great job of combining the stories of Doc and Jim, although that makes it difficult to put it in the biography section. This book is an African-American biography that doesn’t hit you over the head with African-American rights, slavery, or prejudice, something that I really appreciate and might make it suitable for younger readers. Horse nuts are also sure to pick it up with that cover and title, although they might be a little suprised by the first few pages that focus on Doc before Jim.