Uplifting and stirring.
An account of Judith Heumann’s fight for equal rights for herself and others with disabilities.
As a child in the early 1950s, Judy loved books. But the principal of the first school her mother signed her up for declared her and her wheelchair a “fire hazard,” and the Jewish Day School’s principal refused her even after she learned Hebrew. When she was finally permitted to attend public school in fourth grade, the segregated disabled students “weren’t expected to learn much of anything at all.” Faced with prejudiced attitudes and inaccessible spaces, Judy “heard the word NO much too often” growing up. But after winning a legal battle against the New York City Board of Education to become a teacher, Judy joined disabled friends in advocating for disability rights. She and fellow activists petitioned the government to pass Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act—to ensure sidewalk ramps and bus lifts were installed and to make sure that buildings were wheelchair accessible—and finally, in 1977, after nationwide demonstrations, including a grueling 24-day sit-in at a San Francisco federal building, they succeeded. Cocca-Leffler’s straightforward text relates Judy’s challenges and triumphs, while Mildenberger’s muted illustrations adequately if somewhat blurrily convey Judy’s sadness, determination, and joy. An author’s note provides more information on Heumann as well as background on Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a note from Heumann asks, “How will you start fighting for YES?” Judy presents White; background figures are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Uplifting and stirring. (sources, notes) (Picture-book biography. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4197-5560-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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 unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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