SHIRLEY CHISHOLM IS A VERB!
Written by Veronica Chambers
Illustrated by Rachelle Baker
Verbs are words about “doing,” explains Veronica Chambers at the beginning of “Shirley Chisholm is a verb!” “Verbs are words that move the world,” as did Congresswoman Chisholm, a daughter of immigrants and the first African American and first woman to seriously run for the Democratic President nomination. She believed that “service to others is the rent you pay for your room on earth.” Chisholm was instrumental in developing programs like Head Start and WIC (which helps women, infants, and children in need of food) and in forming the Congressional Black Caucus. He was determined to make room for others. Just as Chambers’ words emphasize a life marked by movement, Rachelle Baker’s illustrations make Chisholm a “doer” through expressive, determined lines and gestures. Verbs such as speaking, improving, hearing, creating and doing appear on almost every page in blue-green capital letters against a white background, illuminating the vision and drive of this woman who pushed against and cracked glass ceilings. Although a timeline would have improved our understanding of how she lived each day as the voice of the “people of America”, “Shirley Chisholm is a verb!” succeeds as an inspiring exploration of what it means to be a true woman of action.
40 S. Select. $ 18.99. (4 to 8 years)
KAMALA HARRIS: Rooted in justice
Written by Nikki Grimes
Illustrated by Laura Freeman
Nikki Grimes writes, in a manner similar to the vice-president-elect, “Kamala was like clay her parents formed into action.” Framed by a mother’s encouragement to her young daughter after a boy at school told her she wasn’t Can become President, “Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice” Unfolds as a roadmap for how everyone can get the job done through hard work, commitment, care, and confidence. Raised by immigrant parents on civil rights marches, lectures by Martin Luther King Jr., readings at a local cultural center by James Baldwin and Maya Angelou, and Nina Simone’s “Pebble Version” of “Young, Gifted and Black,” Harris learned early on how it looked like fighting for freedom and speaking out against injustice. That focused mind shows in a poignant exchange between baby Kamala and her mother, which was beautifully held by Grimes: “What do you want, little girl?” She asked. ‘Freedom!’ said Kamala, and a waterfall of laughter gushed from her mother’s mouth. “Laura Freeman’s illustrations complement Grimes ‘text with bold, bright colors juxtaposing the ethereal blue shades of its predecessors, with subtle allusions to Harris’ roots in India, Jamaica and America.” Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice “is an illuminating one sometimes a lyrical portrait of a woman whose life has always been about standing up for others.
40 S. Atheneum. $ 17.99. (Ages 5 to 8)
NORTHBOUND: A TRAIN RIDE OUT OF THE SEGREGATION
Written by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein
Illustrated by James E. Ransome
Five years after Michael S. Bandy, Eric Stein, and James E. Ransome worked together on Granddaddy’s Turn: A Trip To The Ballot, they teamed up again to show how Bandy’s first train ride from Alabama was in the early 1960s Ohio led opened its eyes to the unfair barriers that have been created by segregation. Through Ransome’s detailed and expressive watercolors of the lush fields and “glittering” cityscapes that passengers see when day turns into night, readers hear the chugging of the train and feel the rumble beneath their feet as Michael goes in search of to be stopped by a “WHITES ONLY” sign separating him and the other black passengers from the rest of the access offer. Bandy and Stein give an intimate and poignant account of how segregation affects the everyday lives of two new friends – one black and one white – who find camaraderie when the signs fall between cars when the train hits Atlanta. Soon they will be able to discover a dining car, sleeping area and each other, all because a city has “different rules than at home”. Go back to the signs when you hit Chattanooga and back down when you get to Cincinnati. “Northbound: A Train Trip Out of Segregation” skillfully shows how even the most subtle aspects of the division cannot stand in the way of hope, kindness and friendship.
40 S. Candlewick. $ 17.99. (6 to 9 years)
WILLIAM STILL AND HIS FREEDOM STORIES
The father of the subway
From Don Tate
In William Still and His Freedom Stories, Don Tate records the life of a man who understood the need to record the lives of others. Nevertheless, the youngest of 15 children was born free in 1821 as the son of formerly enslaved parents. Many years earlier, his mother had made the decision to flee with her two young daughters and join her husband in the north, leaving her two eldest sons in bondage. “Her new life was good, but life hurt like an open wound,” writes Tate. This lingering wound and a night helping a neighbor hunted by slavers had a profound effect on young William. At the age of 23 he moved “with $ 3 in his pocket and a billion dollars pride” to East Philadelphia, where he worked his way up to manager of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and his house as a “station” on the subway. An unexpected and glorious reunion with one of his long-lost brothers led him to write down the stories of other freedom seekers who were hoping to reunite with relatives. Tate’s vivid illustrations bring his often sparse text to life. With a timeline, an informative author’s note, and additional background info, Tate greets the attention of an overlooked character who put her heart and soul into reconnecting those whose lives and stories may have been forgotten.
40 S. Peachtree. $ 18.99. (6 to 10 years)
THIS IS YOUR TIME
From Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges – who integrated an all-white school in New Orleans as the first black child in 1960 at the age of 6 – speaks directly to young readers in “This Is Your Time”: “May my past, my story, inspire you.” Purpose she combines memories of being escorted into first grade by federal marshals, of the angry mob that rose against her just because of her skin color, and of the love and support of her white first grade teacher with reports of visits during her Grown up with a new generation of school children sharing their own thoughts on bravery, equality and love. Black and white photographs provide a visual timeline of civil rights history, the own lives of Bridges and today’s young peace seekers speaking out against injustice around the world In conclusion, Bridges admonishes, “Don’t be afraid. This is your time in history.” t that guiding star, that reassuring hug that needed a call to go on, keep pushing, and keep calling for change.
64 S. Delacorte. $ 15.99. (From 10 years on)
Leah Henderson’s picture book “Together We March: 25 Protest Movements That Made History” will be published in January.
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