Publishers Weekly
In her debut picture book, Shelton, a daughter of Andrew Young (activist, politician, and former U.N. ambassador), taps into her memories and those of her father, two older sisters, and others to offer a child's perspective of “the family of the civil rights movement.” She recalls her parents, native Southerners, moving their family from New York to Georgia to help combat erupting racial violence (“At first, I thought Jim Crow was a big black crow/ that squawked whenever a black person/ tried to get a good seat”). Shelton smoothly threads together personal anecdotes: being turned away from a restaurant; listening from under the table as her parents, Martin Luther King Jr., and other activists gather (“With everyone trying to talk at once,/ I thought they sounded just like/ instruments tuning up before a concert”); and participating as a four-year-old in the Selma-Montgomery march. Colón's (As Good as Anybody) soft-focus art features his customarily rich textural backdrop of speckles, scratches, and waves. Both contributors evoke the drama and emotion of the times (while avoiding the violence) and a triumphal sense of community and family. Ages 4–8. (Dec.)
School Library Journal
K-Gr 3—When the author was a child, her father, Andrew Young, was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Her first picture book beautifully captures her childhood during those events that radically changed America. One episode recalls Shelton's unique contribution to the integration of restaurants. When white owners refused to seat her family, Shelton sat down and cried loudly, an action she calls "my very first protest, my own little sit-in." With this incident, she helps modern children understand the hurtful effects of segregation. Shelton also recalls how the movement united its leaders. The Youngs, the Kings, and other activists became like family because they "were brought together by a common goal." This positive tone prevails throughout the book, which ends with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Colón's luminous watercolors effectively underscore the text's optimistic viewpoint, imbuing scenes of struggle with light that represents the activists' hope for positive results. The book therefore balances honesty about the challenges of the movement with the hope that inspired activists to continue their efforts. An author's note explains how Shelton does not always remember conversations verbatim, but draws on her family's shared memories. The back matter includes information about the leaders who are mentioned. History comes alive in this vivid account.—Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY
Kirkus Reviews
Civil rights can be a difficult topic, even for adults, so finding simple language to explain the complexity of injustice and oppression to children is challenging. Shelton, daughter of Andrew Young, accepts the challenge and rises to meet it, approaching the topic from the point of view of the child she was in the '60s: a four-year-old girl living in the midst of the leaders who helped change the nation. While the linked free-verse poems appropriately omit potentially confusing information, they introduce readers to her parents' friends-activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Cotton and Ralph Abernathy. The author's language can pack a punch, as when she describes her parents' moving the family from New York "back to Georgia, / back to Jim Crow, / where whites could / but blacks could not." Colon's illustrations are exceptional in their use of color and texture to convey emotions and situations. Thumbnail biographies of the leaders introduced demonstrate that their activism did not end after the Voting Rights Act, which concludes this account. Essential. (bibliography) (Picture book/memoir. 4-9)
From the Publisher
Starred Review, Booklist, February 1, 2010:
"The daughter of civil rights leader Andrew Young remembers her family’s active role in the civil rights movement, beginning when she was four years old...Many adults will want to talk about their memories of the time, and kids will appreciate the child’s intimate viewpoint of world-changing history."
Starred Review, School Library Journal, December 2009:
"History comes alive in this vivid account.”
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2009:
“Civil rights can be a difficult topic, even for adults, so finding simple language to explain the complexity of injustice and oppression to children is challenging. Shelton, daughter of Andrew Young, accepts the challenge and rises to meet it...Essential.”
Review, Publishers Weekly, November 23, 2009:
“Both contributors evoke the drama and emotion of the times...and a triumphal sense of community and family.
