WITNESSES TO FREEDOM

A workmanlike survey of the civil-rights movement, focusing on the experiences of several individuals who were children or teenagers at the time: participants in sit-ins (Harvey Gantt, later mayor of Charlotte and a North Carolina senatorial candidate); one of the ``Little Rock Nine''; Claudette Colvin, predecessor to Rosa Parks; freedom riders; a student in the Brown v. Board of Education suit; etc. The clear, simply phrased presentation is appropriate for younger and less able readers, but the best feature here is the boxed ``Profiles'' by the young people themselves, which have a special immediacy and authenticity; though they are apparently quotes, they're not explicitly sourced. Interested readers can go on to books listed as ``Further Reading for Children,'' especially Ellen Levine's excellent Freedom's Children (1992, for a slightly older group), with its more extensive quotes from participants. B&w photos; source list; index. (Nonfiction. 8-12)