civil rights

Book Review: These Hands by Margaret H. Mason

| Tasha

thesehands

These Hands by Margaret H. Mason, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Joseph’s grandfather’s hands can still do so many amazing things.  He used to be able to tie knots very quickly, now he helps Joseph learn to tie his shoes.  He can play the piano.  He can show Joseph how to do a waterfall shuffle with cards.  He could pitch a curve ball in his youth, now he can teach Joseph to hit a line drive.  But there were things his hands couldn’t do when he was younger.  His hands were forbidden to touch the bread dough in the Wonder Bread factory.  His hands could touch the broom to sweep the floor, work the line, load the trucks, but not touch the bread.  So his hands helped with the protests and organizing, and now all colors of hands can touch the bread dough.  His hands can do anything in the world.

This is a powerful book that speaks of discrimination in a very tangible way that children will clearly understand.  Mason writes from the point of view of that grandfather speaking to Joseph.  The book has a clear point of view, a ringing tone, and a wonderfully light hand.  Looking at a grandfather through his hands makes him so human yet so amazing.  This focused approach makes the book even stronger.

Cooper’s art is stellar.  The illustrations have a softness that is beautiful, all hard edges softer and rounder.  The light in the art is also particularly well done with its warmth that stays consistent even during the dark times of the story.  The art shows such strength, such vivid storytelling.

Highly recommended, this is a picture book about discrimination and civil rights that will work very well with small children.  There’s plenty to discuss here in a classroom or in a living room.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Sit-In

| Tasha

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illlustrated by Brian Pinkney

Inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. four young men sat at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960.  They placed their simple order of a doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side, and sat quietly, refusing to comply with the Whites Only rule.  The next day, more people joined them, sitting still for what was right.  The sit-ins got bigger and moved beyond lunch counters to buses, parks and libraries.  The students were jailed for loafing, but they didn’t resist.  All of these brave actions led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Pinkney has written this book with such verve and style that it reads like a King speech.  Throughout, she has woven the threads of the lunch counter, coffee and recipes, reminding readers again and again where it all started.  Her use of repetition and poetic style really make the book sing.  Brian Pinkney’s illustrations are done in watercolor and India ink.  They capture the time with an exuberant style that is filled with colors and the swirls of motion.  Though the people sit still, the illustrations are in motion, moving to the future with them.

Highly recommended, this book truly captures the wonder of this time, the courage it took to sit still, and the progress that was made.  This husband and wife team have created a powerful book about a vital time in our history.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Little Brown and Company.

Also reviewed by Muddy Puddle Musings and Wild Geese Guides.

Back of the Bus

| Tasha

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

It is a winter afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama.  A boy and his mother are riding the bus home after a long day.  The boy is playing with a marble, letting it roll up the aisle.  When a hand snatches the marble, the boy sees Ms. Parks smiling at him and she rolls the marble back.  The bus gets more crowded and then there is a commotion.  The bus remains stopped until the police arrive and take Ms. Parks away.  There is something in her eyes and the way she holds her head though, that show the boy that something big is happening.  And he can see the same spark in his mother’s eyes now.

Here we see a moment in history captured through a young boy’s perspective.  Reynold’s poetry is languid with the warm afternoon and the bumps of the bus.  His poetry allows us to see more deeply into the boy and his mother as he calls attention to small details:

Mama shakes “no” at me,

and I hold it snug in my hand.

She’s got them worked-all-day eyes,

but she’s got her strong chin on.

Very accessible to children, the poem is filled with an honesty and truth.  Cooper’s illustrations are filled with afternoon sunshine that illuminates this moment in history.  He has captured the small world of the bus, yet the poem and his illustrations reveal far more.  Warmly lit, detailed and beautifully done, his illustrations are glowingly lovely.

Highly recommended, this book takes history and bring it to life through poetry, image and one boy.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.