An unflinching account of the Tulsa Race Massacre seen through the eyes of a young Black girl.
On Memorial Day 1921, 12-year-old Lena watches a gathering of clouds that portends a storm unlike any ever seen in Greenwood.
In this moving story told from Lena’s perspective, readers learn about the African American community of Greenwood, Oklahoma, or Black Wall Street as it came to be known. Lena lives in Greenwood with her mother, father, and 16-year-old sister, Cora. Her father often reminds her that “we have everything we need in Greenwood.” They have shops aplenty, libraries, schools, parks, and, most importantly, a sense of community. One day, Lena’s family hears whispers about Dick Rowland, a local Black man who was accused of assaulting a White woman. As racial tensions heighten, the residents of Greenwood fear White retribution for the alleged assault. The book moves quickly through the hours leading up to the massacre of over 300 Black people at the hands of White mobs and ends with Lena’s family and her community trying to piece together what little remains of their lives. This well-plotted fictionalized account of the Tulsa Race Massacre geared at young readers is emotionally challenging but necessary. Smith’s narrative deftly captures a child’s emotional and psychological experience of the tragedy as well as the tenderness shared among Lena and her family members. Jenai’s black-and-white digital illustrations, which appear every few pages, depict only Black characters and help readers imagine the historical setting. The thoughtful, informative backmatter will help adults lead discussions with children.
An unflinching account of the Tulsa Race Massacre seen through the eyes of a young Black girl. (author's note, discussion questions, glossary) (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66632-944-5
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Stone Arch Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
An entertaining, if fanciful look at colonial India in transition.
In this sequel to Small Acts of Amazing Courage (2011), heroine Rosalind dances with the Prince of Wales during his 1921 visit to India and does her bit for Gandhi’s independence movement.
Growing up in colonial India, Rosalind isn’t “what a well-bred English girl should be,” to the distress of her very British father. Two years before, Rosalind and her friend Max barely avoided arrest for publically supporting Gandhi’s movement to free India. Now they sympathize with his nonviolent strikes disrupting the country. When Rosalind’s father is invited to festivities surrounding the Prince of Wales’ visit to Calcutta, Max coaxes her to deliver an important letter from Gandhi to the prince. Months later, in London, Rosalind’s chance encounter with King George V also affects Gandhi’s cause. Whether saving an Indian girl from an arranged marriage or teaching Indian boys, Rosalind’s loyalties lie with her adopted country. Though at first approaching India’s struggle from a “White Man’s Burden” perspective, Rosalind learns not to apply English values to India and its cultures. Whelan conveys the atmosphere of a critical period in India’s history from the sympathetic, first-person perspective of an egalitarian heroine who acts on her principles.
An entertaining, if fanciful look at colonial India in transition. (author’s note, text of Gandhi’s letter of 1920, glossary) (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4976-3
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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Of potential interest as curriculum support, this treatment requires advanced reading skills (or a grown-up) and a basic...
This effort to illuminate and explicate the affectionate relationship between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, as well as its impact on United States history, is enthusiastic but perhaps ambitious for the format.
The body of the work is presented as an illustrated narrative with interjections expressing Lafayette’s point of view; focusing on a short period of time, it is relatively straightforward. Moved by news of the American Revolution, the young Marquis slips out of France at the age of 19 and sails to the New World to offer his services to Washington’s army. Only tolerated at first (because earlier émigrés had not left a positive impression), Lafayette shows his mettle in the battle of Brandywine and forges a lifelong personal bond with the general he so admires. Castrovilla writes in a heightened, emotive voice punctuated by exclamations in French. Extensive backmatter provides additional details including, among other things, a description of the continuing connection between the two men, chronological outlines of their lives, a list of French phrases found in the text, a bibliography and a list of relevant historical sites. Kozjan’s illustrations, pen and ink with digital color, reflect the action of the text effectively for the most part, though awkwardly drawn figures, both human and animal, and odd expressions distract in some cases.
Of potential interest as curriculum support, this treatment requires advanced reading skills (or a grown-up) and a basic understanding of the historical context. (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59078-880-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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