The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Johnson, Angela

A Sweet Smell of Roses

32 pp. | Simon | January, 2005 | Trade ISBN 0-689-83252-4 $16.95

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. The young black narrator and her little sister join a march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The poetic text is powerful, but the improbability of the girls' blithely unchaperoned participation undercuts the tension of the actual events. Velasquez's illustrations capture the emotion of the march, but the girls' central role (they march in front with Dr. King) feels artificial.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2005