(2) YA Moving to a new town can prove stressful for anyone -- but for Calvin Greene and his family in 1955, it's also dangerous. African Americans passing for white, the Greene family has moved to Levittown, Pennsylvania, a known "sundown town" -- a suburb populated by white people that warns people of color to leave the area by sunset. Determined to grab a piece of the "American dream," Calvin's army-veteran father has advised him and his mother to forget their former lives in Chicago and assimilate as well as possible. Calvin's only solace is visiting his older brother, who is unable to pass as white and who runs a boarding school in an area where a developer is attempting to build an integrated community. At the school, Calvin meets Lily, a beautiful girl with "dark brown skin" who decides to take advantage of the new Brown v. Board of Education ruling by attending Calvin's all-white school. With his two worlds dangerously close to each other, tragedies involving people from his hometown prompt Calvin to act in the best interests of all those close to him -- even if it could cost him his life. Tension is evident from the beginning to the frenetic end of this page-turning novel, which weaves historical events into the narrative. Back matter includes an author's note and resources on topics including passing, the history of Levittown, and redlining.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Alex Bostic. This highly readable and engaging book tells the story of three six-year-old girls who were the first Black children to integrate a public school in New Orleans following the mandate of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. Nelson (Bad News for Outlaws, rev. 11/09; No Crystal Stair, rev. 3/12, and many others) builds an informative and affecting narrative from extensive interviews with the McDonogh Three: Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost (Williams), and Gail Etienne. The text clearly details their experiences as young girls and, importantly, displays their innocence with details about giggling, hair ribbons, and playing hopscotch despite the violent racism targeted at them. Similarly, Bostic's evocative illustrations add tenderness to a narrative of real terror. The soft-edged, at times sepia-toned images have the feel of a family photo album. One of the more touching illustrations depicts the girls' shoes with those of their teacher, Miss Meyers, representing the warmth between this educator and the young students she helped protect. An important addition to civil rights movement literature with which readers can connect on a human level. Back matter (more information about school desegregation and the McDonogh Three, a glossary, a selected bibliography, and photos) provides a wealth of historical context.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Keith Mallett. Paul R. Williams was born in Los Angeles in 1894; his parents died when he was five, and his brother was sent to a different foster home. Despite this early tragedy, Paul flourished creatively, demonstrating a talent for drawing that blossomed into a career as an architect. By 1921, facing discrimination and prejudice at every turn, he had become the first Black certified architect west of the Mississippi River. Southern California was becoming a cultural mecca, and Williams took advantage of that to put his iconic stamp on many prominent buildings. He didn't stop there, though. He also got into the banking industry to help African Americans overcome the predatory, discriminatory practice of redlining. In 1948, the Supreme Court struck down laws upholding restrictive housing covenants, and Paul was finally free to build his dream house in his desired neighborhood. If "curve and flow" represents elements of Williams's design style, the motto also signifies how he dealt with the obstacles and opportunities he faced in life. Alongside the generally optimistic text, the illustrations reinforce this theme of overcoming adversity. They convey grace, warmth, and dignity with a color palette dominated by purple, gold, blue, brown, and burgundy, and expressive figures who fairly shine and glow. An author's note, sources, photos, and a timeline are appended.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Julia Kuo. Firm resolve in the face of discrimination is the theme of this informative picture-book biography by Brockenbrough (Unpresidented, rev. 3/19) and Lin (most recently the Storytelling Math series of board books, rev. 11/20). Wong Kim Ark was a young Chinese American cook whose 1898 U.S. Supreme Court case set the legal precedent that birthright citizenship applies to everyone, regardless of their race or ethnic background. The authors cover this overlooked part of American history and early anti-Chinese discrimination by telling the story of Wong's childhood and teenage years in San Francisco's Chinatown and the four-month imprisonment he experienced after he was denied reentry into California when returning from a family trip to China. Kuo's (I Dream of Popo, rev. 5/21) art emphasizes the othering and segregation of Chinese Americans. For example, the book's front and back endpapers depict a map of 1885 Chinatown showing the clear delineations between where white and Chinese people lived. Throughout the book, white people are shown wearing brown or black outfits while Chinese people wear red, dark blue, and gray clothing. Only the final double-page spread breaks from the theme of separation, showing a modern scene of children from diverse backgrounds (and wearing a variety of colors) playing together near the Golden Gate Bridge. Back matter includes more details about Wong's court case, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the continued discrimination he and his family faced, along with a timeline.

Reviewer: Michelle Lee | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Coauthor Leffler (the adult daughter of Cocca-Leffler), who was born with cerebral palsy, describes how she loved attending public school. Sadly, "it hadn't always been that way" for kids with disabilities. In 1971, seven kids (each named in a tidily illustrated vignette portrait) were denied schooling until their families' outcries led to Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia, which secured the right to public education for children with disabilities. The text describes events and facts gently while making a strong case for the ruling; the illustrations showcase people with disabilities on every spread. A wealth of appended contextual material, including a timeline and selected sources, enriches the historical account.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(1) YA Goldstone (Unpunished Murder, rev. 9/18) takes a long view of the historic 1954 civil rights case Brown v. Board of ­Education, starting with the "separate but equal" doctrine established in 1896 with Plessy v. Ferguson. He highlights important legal cases in between that paved the way for that doctrine to be overturned. He also provides context for the ­political mobilization of African Americans and factors leading up to it, including the efforts of Booker T. ­Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois; the rise of the NAACP, its legal strategy, and the work of Thurgood Marshall. Cultural shifts included reaction against the widespread horrors of Jim Crow–era lynching; social mobility of enlisted ­African ­Americans; the race riots of the Red Summer; and Jackie Robinson's integration of baseball. Gradually, these disparate elements coalesce into a ­compelling climax as five separate cases wend their way to the Supreme Court. These ­culminating chapters are filled with suspense as various ­factions make it seem impossible to deliver the unanimous decision the occasion demands, but ultimately new Chief Justice Earl Warren, haunted by his role in Japanese American incarceration, builds the necessary consensus. Pair with Susan Goldman Rubin's Brown v. Board of Education (rev. 11/16), with a narrower focus on the five cases. Black-and-white photos with captions enhance the narrative, and the back matter includes a bibliography, source notes, and an index (unseen).

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Freeman. "Thurgood would become the first to do a lot of things that a Black person had never done before." When he attended Lincoln University, a Black college, Thurgood Marshall's debate team became the first to participate in an interracial debate. As a young lawyer in Baltimore, he won a court case admitting a Black student to the University of Maryland, the first time a court had ordered the desegregation of a school. And he won the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case before the Supreme Court in 1954 and became a Supreme Court justice himself in 1967. Magoon's title comes from Marshall himself: "In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute." The crystal-clear and accessible text, focusing on essential cases in the career of "Mr. Civil Rights," does justice to the Justice. Freeman's stately digital illustrations employ effective graphic elements: newspaper headlines, "whites only" signs, bits of the Constitution, the scales of justice. The superb back matter includes a timeline, a list of major court cases, a bibliography, and an excellent selection of books for further reading.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) YA Multiple legal, social, religious, and medical strands comprise the history of reproductive rights in America. Blumenthal, in her trademark straightforward journalistic style (Tommy: The Gun That Changed America, rev. 7/15; Bonnie and Clyde, rev. 1/19), creates a narrative that not only presents a comprehensible overview of the facts but also establishes the historical culture in which those facts existed. Blumenthal incorporates well-chosen case studies and numerous sidebars (each unfortunately titled a "Pregnant Pause")--such as charts reporting the historic trend of deaths related to abortion or the changing positions of major religious groups. These reveal the misogyny (until the midpoint of the twentieth century, unmarried women could not legally buy contraceptives); racism (women of color were often sterilized without their knowledge); and classism (overwhelmingly white, financially stable women were, and are, able to get abortions) that influenced the issue of unwanted pregnancies for a century and a half. In addition, she outlines the unexpected consequences, including social pressures, mass media coverage, and death, that some women faced when trying to obtain abortions before the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade, as well as the limits that have been imposed on the law since the 1973 decision. Blumenthal's impeccable research is revealed in the extensive back matter (including documentation, a subject bibliography, a timeline, and a glossary) that completes this compelling book.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) YA Brimner (Twelve Days in May, rev. 1/17) presents another compelling story of civil rights history. Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of African and Native ancestry, loved each other and wanted to get married. But that was against the law in Virginia in the 1960s. Brimner weaves together their personal stories--their courtship, marriage, and family life; their arrest in Virginia, subsequent move to Washington, DC, and move back in defiance of parole--with the larger legacy of prejudice and bigotry in the Jim Crow South. He provides a brief primer on the constitutional challenges their case presented, as it wound its way, slowly but surely, through the federal court system, culminating with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Lovings in 1967. The book is enhanced by black-and-white photographs throughout; candid shots of Richard and Mildred are particularly effective, characterizing the couple's relationship as an especially tender and affectionate one. A final chapter explains how this case set the stage for the marriage equality activism at the turn of the twenty-first century that enabled LGBTQ people to marry whom they wish. Recent books about this case include a picture book, The Case for Loving (rev. 5/15) by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls, and a "documentary novel" in verse, Loving vs. Virginia (rev. 1/17) by Patricia Hruby Powell and Shadra Strickland, so this nonfiction account is a welcome addition. A bibliography, source notes, and index are appended.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Velasquez's arresting jacket portrait of Ginsburg, superimposed on a facsimile of the U.S. Constitution, conveys a woman of purpose; Rappaport's biography, largely focused on Ginsburg's work for gender equality, reinforces this first impression. Despite societal inequalities between men and women in the 1950s, Ginsburg receives a full scholarship to Cornell and is then accepted to Harvard Law School. She graduates first in her class from Columbia Law (where she had transferred), but not a single law firm interviews her. She begins teaching at Rutgers with a salary less than those of her male counterparts and a legal barrier against claiming her student husband as a dependent. After joining several lawsuits addressing these issues, she successfully argues one such case before the Supreme Court. Rappaport's narrative scope includes Ginsburg's personal life, where her marriage mirrored her beliefs of shared and equal gender roles. Generous oil paintings place Ginsburg front and center except in illustrations relating to her marriage; there both husband and wife share the visual spotlight. Ginsburg's own words, stating both the inequalities she endured and her own convictions, conclude thus: "When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough women on the Court, and I respond when there are nine, people are shocked. But the Supreme Court has had nine men for ever so long, and nobody's ever raised a question about that." Appended with a timeline, notes from both author and illustrator, a brief bibliography, and source notes.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(3) 4-6 Fact Finders: People You Should Know series. These biographies focus on individuals who've had a significant impact on American culture and history. Ginsburg highlights important decisions the Justice has been outspoken about and describes her place in pop culture. Bridges takes a broader look at the integration of Ruby's school and the reactions of her community. Sidebars, "Did You Know?" text boxes, well-chosen photographs, and word definitions accompany the readable texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fact Finders: People You Should Know titles: Ruby Bridges and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(2) YA Ortiz's volume is a good introduction to progressive Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg's life, along with being a fine primer for studying the United States Constitution. Each chapter opens with an important Supreme Court case, switching midway to events in Ginsburg's biography that were relevant to that case. Many eye-catching archival photographs enhance the information. The Bill of Rights is appended for handy reference. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Bryan Collier. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice, was a skilled debater and orator from a young age. As a young lawyer, Marshall sharpened his disgust about unjust laws into irrefutable evidence to prove that separate is not equal. In engaging, accessible prose, Winter presents facts of Marshall's life as if presenting a court case. Repeated words--"FACT," "VERDICT"; "JUSTICE," "INJUSTICE"--mark defining moments; vernacular phrases create a more conversational tone. Collier's sometimes shadowy art reflects the violence and chaos that permeated Marshall's everyday life. An author's note presents more about Marshall work.

Reviewer: Maija Meadows Hasegawa | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) 4-6 Sixth grader Sam Warren feels homework leaves no time for things he wants to do. With the help of his retired-lawyer neighbor, Sam and classmates put together Warren v. Board of Education. Once granted class-action status, the case is off to the Supreme Court. Though hardly credible, the story is entertaining, and readers will learn much about constitutional law and the legal rights of students. Glos.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(1) YA In 1873, a mob of armed white men massacred more than one hundred black "freedmen" in the town of Colfax in central Louisiana. Goldstone sets the stage for this horrific, unpunished event by tracing important ideas through the early history of the United States. The book is, in large part, the story of how racism evolves, persisting in laws and politics despite major social advances. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nancy Zhang. Krull depicts Ginsburg as a smart, strong, independent woman, whose mother's influence has always stayed with her. Ginsburg's accomplishments and famous dissents are highlighted; large, bold statements drive home Krull's themes. The illustrations' mix of traditional and digital techniques at times lend the characters an unfortunate, out-of-place plastic quality. Explanatory pieces on the Supreme Court and Ginsburg's most famous rulings are appended. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Mary Kate McDevitt. A useful volume presenting historic documents in chronological order, this updated edition includes George W. Bush's address to the nation on the September 11 attacks, Barack Obama's 2008 DNC "Speech on Race," and excerpts from the 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges). Every selection includes historical background, information about the document's author, and the public response. Archival photos and facsimiles are featured. Ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Grace Lin. Roosevelt's clear, inviting introduction to basic civics, from the operations of local governments to federal checks and balances, is presented with Markel's updates to reflect events since the 1932 original as well as changing sensibilities. Lin's illustrations include black-and-white spot art and color-saturated full-page pictures, often with labels, making this volume an accessible guide for young future voters. Reading list, timeline, websites.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lulu Delacre. The Associate Justice accessibly narrates her own story, highlighting the power of books and reading throughout her life. Mixed-media illustrations enhance Sotomayor's metaphorical approach ("I felt like a deep-sea diver... Books were my snorkel and flippers") and her emphasis on the written word by incorporating text into the art. Timeline.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) YA This young reader's edition of the Supreme Court justice's memoir recounts her lifelong determination and ambition. Beginning with her childhood in the Bronx, Sotomayor thoughtfully traces her personal and intellectual development as she attended Princeton and Yale and eventually landed her first appointment as a judge. The book's density and maturity recommend it for teen readers, who should find Sotomayor's warmth and honesty inspiring. Glos.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello