scrounge: /skrounj/ informal verb: to actively seek [books] from any available source
I enjoyed Stella by Starlight -- the story of a black girl named Stella who is living in the depression-era South. Stella doesn't have a lot of power over the events that take place around her -- the segregation, the hurdles her friends and family members are forced to go through just to attempt to cast a ballot, the KKK meetings across the lake, and the arson of the house of her friends. But she learns to find her voice and rely on her family and on the close-knit community she lives in.
Stella wants to write and be a writer, which does not seem entirely uncommon in books about adolescent children written by people who are also writers. What I appreciated was that her struggles and learning seem to be portrayed realistically for the most part. When Stella's teacher announces a writing contest, I expected that Stella, being the protagonist, was probably going to win. But she doesn't. And despite that, she keeps writing. I like seeing that in books aimed at middle grade readers especially -- it's not always about winning -- sometimes it's just about being willing to make mistakes and keep on trying, and the "winning," if it comes at all, may be many years down the road still. But Stella still fights and wins a few victories on the way.
To be honest, there were a few times when it seemed to me that Stella's "voice" sounded too much like an adult trying to speak through a child. Mainly in some of the metaphors and more abstract views she comes up with that seem like they'd be beyond her actual experience.
Still, a good read for the characterizations and writing style, as well as informative about this time period.
Scrounged From: Our local library
Format: Hardcover
Author: Sharon Draper
Pages: 320
Content Advisory: As mentioned in the review, KKK activities are mentioned, as well as a scene of arson, scenes of racial discrimination/demeaning treatment, and a few characters are injured or in peril at different times.
It's not that I'm going out of my way to select books illustrated by Kadir Nelson -- it's just that he seems to be the current master of illustrating the African American story, and so many of his books are highly acclaimed, and rightly so. His illustrations here evoke a strong sense of determination, identity, and community, among other things.
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans is the stunningly illustrated story of African Americans in America -- who have been here since long before the country became independent, and have contributed so much to America's success and sense of identity ever since.
Written in a voice that is both informative and informal, this story traces African Americans' history, from the first settlers through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the fight for Civil Rights. It also includes some lesser-known aspects of African American history, such as various inventors, and people who went west during westward expansion, including cowboys.
The narrative occasionally makes reference to grandparents and uncles, etc., but it wasn't clear to me until the end who the narrator was supposed to be. At first I thought it was simply meant to be a "collective" voice, but in the epilogue it becomes more clear that the narrator is someone who is very old, who culminates her story with a vote for Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States.
Of course, trying to fit such a large amount of history into a book this size is a challenge, and can result in gaps and lack of nuance in the treatment of some topics. Still, this is a very valuable contribution to history written for children, and would make a great addition to any US history classroom or homeschool program.
Scrounged From: Our local library
Format: Hardcover
Author/illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Pages: 112
Content Advisory: References are made to violence in the context of slavery and war.
I Love My Hair! is a book that portrays a girl named Keyana getting her hair brushed by her mother. It hurts and she doesn't like it, but when her mother is done, she reminds her that her hair is beautiful and she can wear it in any style she chooses.
This is a celebration of African hair, and I love the visual metaphors of different styles, such as "cornrows" showing her hair blending into a cornfield -- we also see other styles such as braids with beads, and the natural style, described as letting her hair go "any way it pleases."
Toward the end, the voice changes to Keyana's: "I love my hair, because it is thick as a forest, soft as cotton candy." She says her favorite style is one ponytail on each side of her head, like wings, and that one day she might take off and fly!
Scrounged From: Our local library
Format: Paperback
Author: Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Illustrator: E.B. Lewis
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None
The Youngest Marcher is a story of a girl I'd never heard of before -- Audrey Faye Hendricks, who at nine years old was the youngest known marcher to go to jail for protesting segregation during the Civil Rights Movement.
I thought this book did a good job of balancing its tone between serious and lighthearted. Reading about a young girl being kept for a week in a dirty jail cell is sad and disturbing, but also important. But the story keeps its eye on the prize, and focuses on young Audrey's determination, sense of justice and, at the end, pride at having helped to accomplish the removal of segregation laws.
She was fortunate in that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a family friend who ate at their table and spoke at their church. He said that an "unjust law is no law at all," and called on people to fill the jails in protest. When there weren't enough people filling the jails, he declared that they should fill the jails with children, and that is what happened.
I think this book has potential to communicate the before-and-after picture of segregation very well, in a way that children can understand. Of course, parents/teachers should use discretion as to children's age/maturity levels, but I think Audrey Hendricks' ability to put a child's face on the Civil Rights Movement is very important.
Scrounged From: Our local library
Format: Hardcover
Author: Cynthia Levinson
Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley Newton
Pages: 40
Content Advisory: As mentioned, a little girl spends a week in jail, and protestors describe being sprayed by water hoses and chased by the KKK.
Henry's Freedom Box is the true story of Henry "Box" Brown, an enslaved man who mailed himself to freedom in 1849. This telling of that story is both devastating and triumphant, and as usual, Kadir Nelson's illustrations capture every emotion and event perfectly.
Henry grew up with a master who seemed to treat him well, relatively speaking. But then he was given to his master's son and sent to work in a tobacco factory. After he married and had three children, Henry's wife and children were sold away from him (this scene might be difficult for sensitive readers.)
Henry's method of gaining his freedom leads him into a wooden box which is carried on carts and a boat, and includes some rough handling, but it works. This book did a great job of breathing life into a story I'd heard before only in a vague and generalized sense, and gives the name and details to go with it.
Scrounged From: Our local library
Format: Hardcover
Author: Ellen Levine
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Pages: 40
Content Advisory: Henry's wife and children are sold away from him around the middle of the story.
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