A sweeping and inspiring young readers’ introduction to Ida B. Wells.
Readers meet the brave journalist and activist who wasn’t afraid to use her voice to fight for herself or others.
In this fictional graphic memoir, Williams chronicles Wells’ birth, childhood experiences, early adulthood in Memphis, and subsequent life in Chicago, allowing her subject to speak in the first person. In Memphis, Wells is forced from a train after refusing to leave the first-class seat that she paid for, three of her friends are lynched for owning a successful grocery store, and the office of her newspaper is bombed. After her departure from Memphis, Wells’ story focuses on her activism for both civil rights and women’s rights, forthrightly (if briefly) addressing resistance she met from White suffragists and Black leaders. Wells’ narration carries readers to her death in 1931. From there, her great-granddaughter (and author) Michelle Duster takes over the narrative. The switch in perspective is odd but not wholly confusing due to Harris’ clear stylings in the comics panels. The book lacks historical notes or bibliography, so engaged readers will need to seek more information about the subject on their own. The illustrations, while not particularly dynamic, use mostly warm, muted shades as they depict their subject against varying backdrops; they add much to the reading without detracting from the text. Series companion Dolly Parton, by Emily Skwish and illustrated by Lydia Fernández Abril, publishes simultaneously.
A sweeping and inspiring young readers’ introduction to Ida B. Wells. (Graphic biography. 6-9)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5037-6008-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Sunbird Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal.
Before growing up to become a major figure in the civil rights movement, a boy finds a role model.
Buffing up a childhood tale told by her renowned father, Young Shelton describes how young Andrew saw scary men marching in his New Orleans neighborhood (“It sounded like they were yelling ‘Hi, Hitler!’ ”). In response to his questions, his father took him to see a newsreel of Jesse Owens (“a runner who looked like me”) triumphing in the 1936 Olympics. “Racism is a sickness,” his father tells him. “We’ve got to help folks like that.” How? “Well, you can start by just being the best person you can be,” his father replies. “It’s what you do that counts.” In James’ hazy chalk pastels, Andrew joins racially diverse playmates (including a White child with an Irish accent proudly displaying the nickel he got from his aunt as a bribe to stop playing with “those Colored boys”) in tag and other games, playing catch with his dad, sitting in the midst of a cheering crowd in the local theater’s segregated balcony, and finally visualizing himself pelting down a track alongside his new hero—“head up, back straight, eyes focused,” as a thematically repeated line has it, on the finish line. An afterword by Young Shelton explains that she retold this story, told to her many times growing up, drawing from conversations with Young and from her own research; family photos are also included. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal. (illustrator’s note) (Autobiographical picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-545-55465-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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