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BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS



Illuminating Jim Crow

Cover art for MILES TO GO FOR FREEDOM
CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 1, 2012
Kirkus Star MILES TO GO FOR FREEDOM: SEGREGATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE JIM CROW YEARS
by Linda Barrett Osborne
"Readers will come away moved, saddened, troubled by this stain on their country's past and filled with abiding respect for those who fought and overcame. (timeline, notes, bibliography, note on sources) (Nonfiction. 11-14)"
Cogent and stirring, this very readable book focuses on the Jim Crow era, that period between 1896 and 1954, a shameful time in U.S. history framed by two landmark Supreme Court cases. Read full book review >
Cover art for NO CRYSTAL STAIR
CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 1, 2012
Kirkus Star NO CRYSTAL STAIR: A DOCUMENTARY NOVEL OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF LEWIS MICHAUX, HARLEM BOOKSELLER
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
"A stirring and thought-provoking account of an unsung figure in 20th-century American history. (author's notes, source notes, bibliography, index) (Fictional biography. 12-18)"
Lewis Michaux provided a venue for his fellow African-Americans to have access to their own history and philosophy at a time when the very idea was revolutionary. Read full book review >
Cover art for ZORA AND ME
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 12, 2010
Kirkus Star ZORA AND ME
by Victoria Bond, T.R. Simon
"Absolutely outstanding. (Historical fiction. 10-16)"
The childhood of African-American literary giant Zora Neale Hurston is brought to life with this fictionalized account. Read full book review >
Cover art for SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2009
Kirkus Star SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST ALL-GIRL SWING BAND IN THE WORLD
by Marilyn Nelson, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
"The illustrator is at his best in the wordless full-bleed doublespreads interspersed throughout the book, which set a contemplative pace that invites flipping back and forth through the pages documenting the Sweethearts' travels, triumphs and travails. (Picture book/poetry. 10-14)"
Nelson brings her signature poetic treatment of history to this outstanding collaboration with illustrator Pinkney about a racially integrated "all-girl swing band" that toured the United States during World War II. Read full book review >
Cover art for MARE’S WAR
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 9, 2009
Kirkus Star MARE’S WAR
by Tanita S. Davis
"Absolutely essential reading. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)"
A summer road trip serves as frame for the story of Octavia and Tali's extraordinary grandmother. Read full book review >
Cover art for FLYGIRL
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2009
FLYGIRL
by Sherri L. Smith
"A vibrant picture of WWII women and of Jim Crow as it was then. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)"
During World War II, a semi-military unit of women pilots, the WASPs, fought for their chance to serve their country. Read full book review >