The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo
Levinson and Newton keep [Audrey Faye Hendricks] story bright and snappy, emphasizing the girl's eagerness to make a difference and her proud place in her community.
Publishers Weekly
12/12/2016
Levinson returns to the subject of We’ve Got a Job as she recounts, for a younger audience, the story of Audrey Faye Hendricks and her role in the 1963 Children’s March in Birmingham, Ala. Moving briskly through events, Levinson explains how the young Hendricks was eager to stand up to segregation, marching alongside thousands of fellow students, who were subsequently arrested. Newton’s bright, digitally assembled collages adeptly highlight the danger of the situation—grim cells, barbed-wire fences, children blasted with fire hoses—while emphasizing the power of the marchers’ collective efforts to push back against injustice. Ages 5–10. Author’s agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
*NAACP Image Award Finalist*
*Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year*
*Carter G. Woodson Award*
*Julia Ward Howe Award*
*SCBWI Crystal Kite Award*
*Goodreads Choice Award Finalist*
*A United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Book Club Selection*
May/June 2017 The Horn Book Magazine
"Levinson tells the true story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, the youngest participant in the 1963 Birmingham Children's March.... The well-paced text captures a child's voice and presents time and place realistically. Brightly colored digital collages clearly depict both the hopeful spirit and the rawer emotions of one community involved in the civil rights struggle; a double-page spread of Audrey curled up on a bare mattress in her jail cell is particularly effective."
The New York Times Book Review
"It's one of the more shocking and little-known stories of the civil rights movement: In 1963, the City of Birmingham jailed hundreds of kids for joining the Children's March. Among them was 7-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks, taken from her family to spend a week behind bars, eating "oily grits" and sleeping on a bare mattress. Levinson and Newton keep her story bright and snappy, emphasizing the girl's eagerness to make a difference and her proud place in her community."
The Washington Post
"[This book] can introduce even the youngest children to the idea of rebellion in an age-appropriate and inspiring way. Give the princesses and pirates a rest and try these inspiring reads—just don’t be surprised if bedtime negotiations rise to a new level. Every activist has to start somewhere!.... The book tells the true story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, who was arrested at a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Ala., when she was 9 years old. In it, Audrey is introduced to stories about the Ku Klux Klan and police brutality, and she decides to join the protest. The compelling story about white supremacy and the civil rights era illustrates the courage and personal sacrifice that activism requires, and teaches kids why it matters."
February 2017 The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Audrey’s third-person perspective is well represented and storytold, with short, punchy sentences especially vivid in conveying individual testimony and movement goals."
"20 Children’s Books To Spark Important Disc Huffington Post
"Having honest and open discussions about race, tolerance, and acceptance from a very early age can set the stage for a much broader and deeper understanding of these issues as your child grows. Here [is a book] that can help spark these conversations.... The story of the youngest known civil rights protester in history will teach children that you’re never too small to stand up for what you believe in."
"20 Childrens Books To Spark Important Discussion Huffington Post
"Having honest and open discussions about race, tolerance, and acceptance from a very early age can set the stage for a much broader and deeper understanding of these issues as your child grows. Here [is a book] that can help spark these conversations.... The story of the youngest known civil rights protester in history will teach children that you’re never too small to stand up for what you believe in."
"20 Children’s Books To Spark Important Disc Huffington Post
"Having honest and open discussions about race, tolerance, and acceptance from a very early age can set the stage for a much broader and deeper understanding of these issues as your child grows. Here [is a book] that can help spark these conversations.... The story of the youngest known civil rights protester in history will teach children that you’re never too small to stand up for what you believe in."
School Library Journal
11/01/2016
K-Gr 4—Levinson's We've Got a Job followed nine-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks and three other youths who were among the thousands of children and teens who marched for freedom in Birmingham, AL, in 1963. Here, she pulls from that material, including personal interviews, to highlight Hendricks's story for younger audiences, telling it from her subject's perspective. The author introduces the Hendricks family's frequent dinner guests, Mike, Fred, and Jim—the ministers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Shuttlesworth, and James Bevel, respectively. She also describes the indignities of African American life in Alabama at the time. When Mike's campaign to protest segregation and "fill the jails" doesn't work, young Audrey eagerly volunteers for Jim's new idea—getting children to march. Digital collage illustrations show a young, pigtailed Audrey and her family mostly smiling and happy leading up to the march—she even brings a new board game to pass the time. Pictures and words combine to depict the discomfort of Hendricks's actual experience: loneliness, unpalatable food, angry white interrogators, and even solitary confinement. Like young Audrey, readers will be relieved when her weeklong sentence is up and she goes home to "hot rolls, baptized in butter," and the promise of a brighter future. VERDICT Simplified and sweetened, but still a significant portrayal of Audrey Faye Hendricks and the Children's March. For collections in need of history materials for the younger set.—Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD
Kirkus Reviews
2016-10-19
Readers can decide whether, were they in Audrey's shoes, they would make the same dangerous decision.Nine-year-old Audrey and her mother are happily preparing a meal for their special guest, whom they call Mike—otherwise known as Martin Luther King Jr. It is this environment that helps her decide to march in Birmingham in May 1963 and get arrested—all to fight segregation peacefully. The adults are too fearful to march, so Audrey proudly volunteers to join other children and go to "j-a-a-il!" Her parents and her grandparents support her decision, and so, to the sounds of civil rights-era music, she is arrested. The time behind bars is unpleasant, but the cells soon fill up. Audrey comes home after seven days to her favorite food: "hot rolls, baptized in butter." Eating at an integrated lunch counter follows. Levinson, who wrote for older readers in We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March (2012), here carefully tailors her text to a level suitable for a younger audience. Newton's digital illustrations burst with color against a white background. Audrey smiles and looks fearful, as appropriate. A double-page spread of her in a jail cell, all in gray, is especially effective. A vivid reminder that it took a community to fight segregation and the community responded. (author's note, timeline, recipe, sources) (Informational picture book. 7-10)
