Part of the new Crossroads America nonfiction series, this volume is a good introduction to the Civil Rights movement. Supples describes many of the essential people, places and events in brief sections: Thurgood Marshall, Brown v. Board of Education, the Little Rock Nine, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, the sit-ins and more. The entries are simply summaries, mini-reports useful to young readers in their own report writing, and are sometimes superficial. The entry on Rosa Parks, for instance, repeats the legend that “she was tired,” having been on her feet all day, when, in fact, she was a committed activist, tired of living in a racist society. Still, this is a clearly written, attractive introduction, full of classic photographs and important quotations. A good starting point. Diane McWhorter’s A Dream of Freedom (2004) can take young readers further. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2005
ISBN: 0-7922-8279-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Marguerite Henry died barely two years ago, after living the life of which most writers dream: She wrote from the time she was young, her parents encouraged her, she published early and often, and her books were honored and loved in her lifetime. Her hobby, she said, was words, but it was also her life and livelihood. Her research skills were honed by working in her local library, doing book repair. Her husband Sidney supported and encouraged her work, and they traveled widely as she carefully researched the horses on Chincoteague and the burros in the Grand Canyon. She worked in great harmony with her usual illustrator, Wesley Dennis, and was writing up until she died. Collins is a bit overwrought in his prose, but Henry comes across as strong and engaging as she must have been in person. Researchers will be delighted to find her Newbery acceptance speech included in its entirety. (b&w photos, bibliography, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 10, 1999
ISBN: 1-883846-39-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In The Young Oxford History of African Americans series, a thoroughly researched, thoughtfully written history starting with the first Africans on the continent to American blacks during the Revolution. The subtitle, ``African Americans 16171776,'' is misleading: Wood (for adults, Black Majority, 1974, etc.) begins around 1500, with the emergence of the Spanish slave trade. From there, he traces the role of Africans in the earliest settlements in North America and describes the different policies towards them under Spanish, French, Dutch, and British jurisdiction. The rest of the book—illustrated with black-and-white maps, reproductions, and photographs—deals with the early history of American slavery, specifically with the institutionalization of racism. At the same time, Wood looks at the culture and everyday life of slave communities, illustrating his narrative with a number of intriguing biographies. While his selection of facts and figures is illuminating throughout, what makes the work a particular pleasure are Wood's inspired discussions; he ably links facts and puts them into larger contexts for readers. An obscure chapter in American history, rendered vividly. (chronology, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-19-508700-3
Page Count: 125
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1995
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