Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

**This book has been nominated for the National Book Award**

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

Written by: Phillip M. Hoose

Junior High and High School Grades

"In Montgomery, AL, in March 1955, 15-year-old Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. She was arrested, and although she received some help from local civil rights leaders, they decided that the sometimes-volatile teen was not suitable to be the public face of a mass protest. Later that year, Rosa Parks sparked the famous bus boycott. Colvin was left with a police record and soon faced the additional problems of an unwed pregnancy and expulsion from school. In spite of those troubles, she consented to be named as a plaintiff in the court case that eventually integrated Montgomery's buses. Thus Colvin played a central role in the city's civil rights drama, but her story has been largely lost to history. Hoose, who had been curious about the often-unidentified teen who first defied bus segregation, persuaded her to tell her story.

His book puts Colvin back into the historical record, combining her reminiscences with narrative about her life and the tumultuous events of the boycott. He includes background about segregated Montgomery and places Colvin's story into the context of the larger Civil Rights Movement. The text is supplemented with black-and-white photos, reproductions of period newspapers and documents, and sidebars. While virtually all students know Rosa Parks's story, this well-written and engaging book will introduce them to a teen who also fought for racial justice and give them a new perspective on the era, making it an outstanding choice for most collections."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2009_ypl_hoose.html
http://www.philliphoose.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouscity/3307702101/

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montegomery Bus Boycott

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Written by: Russell Freedman

Junior High and High School Grades

"Freedman begins this outstanding history by reminding his audience that the injustices of racial segregation did not happen that long ago in the United States. Throughout the book, he gives accounts of how much coordination and sacrifice went into conducting the Montgomery Bus Boycott–far more than students are likely to imagine from the usual popular and oversimplified versions offered in textbooks and on television.

There is a refreshing emphasis on depictions of regular people and forgotten local crusaders working together to make the boycott possible and triumphant, from inspiring descriptions of drivers getting up at dawn to take others to work to accounts of well-known civil-rights lawyers working to find the right plaintiff to challenge unjust laws. Freedman's prose style pulls readers into the narrative, integrating the actual recorded words and deeds of the people to tell the story.

The high-quality, black-and-white photographs range from everyday scenes of African-American boycotters meeting, waiting for carpools, and protesting to representations of more famous figures, such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., etc. Extensive chapter notes, an annotated selected bibliography, and a thorough index round out the exemplary presentation."

School Library Journal Review

Web Resources:
http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/frontpage.htm

MLK Journey of a Kind

MLK Journey of a King

Written by: Tonya Bolden

Junior High and High School Grades

"Bolden looks past the public figure to bring the man, and his deeper vision of the "beloved community," into focus in this eloquent, handsomely designed profile. Familiarly calling him "M.L." (a nickname his father used) throughout, the author traces King's life from birth to death, pointing out how reluctantly he assumed the mantle of leadership, then came to espouse Gandhi's nonviolence as a guiding precept, and finally exhausted himself battling not only for civil rights, but also against the Civil Rights Movement's later tide of radicalism. Captions paired to the generous array of photos add further detail, and advanced readers will get fuller pictures of the man and his era from the appended multimedia resource list."

School Library Journal Review

Web Resources:
http://www.martinlutherking.org/

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver

Written by: Tonya Bolden

Junior High and High School Grades

"Shampoo from peanuts? Wallpaper from clay? Ink from sweet potatoes? Discover Carver's imagination and inspiration in this one-of-a-kind biography.

With imagination and intellect, George Washington Carver (1864-1934) developed hundreds of unexpected products from everyday plants. This book reveals what an exceptionally uncommon man Carver was: trailblazing scholar, innovative scientist, pioneering conservationist, and impassioned educator.

This book follows his life from slave and orphan to his college days as the first African American to attend Iowa State College (where he later taught), and on to his life and work in the field of agriculture. Illustrated with historical artifacts and photographs, the book traces Carver's life, discoveries, and legacy."

Publishers Synopsis

Web Resources:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/carver.htm

Black and White Airmen: Their True Story

Black and White Airmen: Their True Story

Written by: John Fleischman

Junior High and High School Grades

"Here is the true history of a friendship that almost wasn’t. John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun grew up in the same neighborhood and were in the same third grade class together. They were classmates—not friends—because Herb was white and John was black.

John and Herb were twenty-one when the United States entered WWII. Herb became an Army Air Forces B-17 bomber pilot. John flew P-51 fighters. Both were thrown into the brutal high-altitude bomber war against Nazi Germany, though they never met because the army was rigidly segregated—only in the air were black and white American fliers allowed to mix.

Both came safely home but it took Herb and John another fifty years to meet again and discover that their lives had run almost side by side through war and peace. Old friends at last, Herb and John launched a mission to tell young people why race once made all the difference and why it shouldn’t anymore."

Publishers Synopsis

Web Resources:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklinks/resources/nonfiction.cfm

Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak

Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak

Written by: Deborah Ellis

Junior High and High School Grades

"This collection of accounts from young people between the ages of 8 and 18 portrays the sapping toll of war on their lives. Instead of looking toward their futures, these kids are watching their backs. Instead of playing games of pick-up ball in the street, they're lobbing rocks at soldier's and dodging tear gas and bullets. Israeli students are pressed into military service. In Palestine, the scanty settlements are overcrowded and unsafe. Each narrative is prefaced with a short historical or personal background description providing a point of reference for the sentiments expressed. Ellis effectively remains absent, serving as chronicler for these ordinary kids in traumatic circumstances who are tinged by varying degrees of anger and despair."

School Library Journal Review

Web Resources:
http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/authors/experts/dellis.asp

The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage

The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage

Written by: Walter Dean Myers and Bill Miles

Junior High and High School Grades

"Myers collaborated with historian and documentary filmmaker Miles to create this nonfiction tribute to the 369th Infantry Regiment, comprised entirely of African American soldiers (many from Harlem), who fought in World War I. After providing an abbreviated history of African Americans in the military and a brief introduction about the causes of the war, Myers traces the roots of the regiment, from its origin as the 15th New York National Guard and the unit's basic training in South Carolina through the soldiers' active combat at the side of the French, who treated the troops as equals. The authors emphasize the mixed message African Americans received about their military service: "On the one hand, they were being trained to risk their lives in defense of the country, while on the other hand they were being told to accept their role as inferior citizens." The clear prose; effective use of white space; and numerous, often full-page black-and-white photographs will attract reluctant readers while enticing more dedicated history buffs to follow up with one of the titles from the selected bibliography."

Booklist Review

Web Resources:
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/369th-infantry/

The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students

The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students

Written by: Suzanne Jurmain

Junior High and High School Grades

"Jurmain has plucked an almost forgotten incident from history and has shaped a compelling, highly readable book around it. In 1831, Prudence Crandall opened a school for young white ladies. When asked by an African American teenager if she might join the class, Crandall, whose sympathies were with the abolitionists, agreed. So begins a jolting episode in which Crandall turned her school into one for girls of color, and is both tormented and sued by the citizenry of Canterbury, Connecticut, who wanted no part of African Americans in their town. Writing with a sense of drama that propels readers forward (and quoting the language of the day, which includes the word nigger), Jurmain makes painfully clear what Crandall and her students faced, while showing their courage as they stood up to those who tried to deter them. Printed on thick, snowy stock and including a number of sepia-toned and color photographs as well as historical engravings, the book's look will draw in readers. Children will be especially pleased by the appended material, which includes an epilogue that tells what became of the principals, as well as source notes for the many quotes."

American Library Association Review

Awards:
Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Award, 2006
Orbis Pictus Award, 2006

Web Resources:
http://www.cultureandtourism.org/cct/cwp/view.asp?a=2127&q=302260

Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

Written by: Tonya Bolden

Junior High and High School Grades

"Born free in a nation stained by slavery, where free blacks had few rights and rare respect, here was a girl determined to rise, to amount to something." In this captivating biography, Bolden introduces Maritcha Reymond Lyon, born in the mid-1800s into a family of free blacks in Manhattan. Lyon found fame as a teenager in Providence, Rhode Island, when she sued the state to gain admission to the all-white high school--the only high school in town. Bolden's succinct text focuses on Lyon's growing-up, and the attractive spreads feature well-chosen archival photographs and engravings that offer a fascinating glimpse of Lyon's world of "New York City's striving class of blacks." Lyon had a distinguished family, and Bolden shows how its members inspired her to succeed against formidable odds, even when she felt that "the iron had entered my soul." Bolden supplements quotes from Lyon's accounts with extensive research and enthralling detail, and the result is both an inspirational portrait of an individual and a piercing history about blacks in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries--subjects rarely covered in books for youth. An author's note describes Lyon's adult achievements and lends insight into Bolden's research. Notes and a selected bibliography conclude this powerful volume."

Booklist Review

Awards:
Coretta Scott King Honor Book, 2006
Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award, 2006

Web Resources:
http://www.tonyaboldenbooks.com/maritcha_a_nineteenth-century_american_girl.html

Remember: The Journey to School Integration

Remember: The Journey to School Integration
Written by: Toni Morrison

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"This unusual blend of archival photographs, historical background, and fictional narrative brings to life the experiences and emotions of the African-American students who made the tumultuous journey to school integration. Dramatic, mostly full-page, black-and-white photographs make up the bulk of the book. An introduction sets the scene, and factual pages, consisting of several sentences, are scattered throughout. They explain the significance of the events, the trauma of racial conflict, the courage and determination of African Americans and their supporters, and the importance of remembering and understanding. With poignant simplicity and insight, Morrison imagines the thoughts and feelings of some of the people in the pictures. The wrenching, inspiring autobiographical school integration memoirs of first-grader Ruby Bridges (Through My Eyes [Scholastic, 1999]) and Little Rock Nine high school junior Melba Pettillo Beals (Warriors Don't Cry [Washington Square, 1995]) offer greater immediacy and convey a powerful message for future generations about the need for understanding, self-awareness, and self-respect."

School Library Journal Review

Awards:
Coretta Scott King Author Award, 2005

Martin's Big Words

Martin's Big Words

Written by: Doreen Rappoport
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier

Elementary Grades

"A brief biography of Dr. Martin Luther King uses memorable words from his speeches to highlight important moments in his life. Large type and arresting collages draw the reader’s attention to Dr. King’s powerful statements. Bryan Collier grabs the reader’s emotional attention with collages made from watercolor, torn paper, and photographic images. each illustration powerfully and passionately interprets the big words spoken by Dr. King. Beginning with the strong, striking cover portrait and stained glass end papers, he conveys a reverential feeling in his art, which causes the reader to pause and think about the meaning of Dr. King’s important words."

American Library Association Review

Awards:
Coretta Scott King Honor Book, 2002
Orbis Pictus Award Winner for Outstanding Nonfiction, 2002
Caldecott Honor Book, 2002

Web Resources:
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=92