Bad news for outlaws wins the Coretta Scott King Award

'Tis the season for award announcements, and I am happy to tell you that Bad News for Outlaws: The remarkable life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal won the 2010 Coretta Scott King award. The book would make a great title for children studying the real Wild West and Black History Month. Here is my review:

Bad news for outlaws: The remarkable life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshall

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Nonfiction Picture Book

Ages 8 to 10

Lerner, 2009, 0822567644

Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1838, and he grew up on a plantation in Texas where he took care of the animals, fetched water, and learned how to become a crack shot. Bass was such a favorite with his master, Colonel George Reeves, that his master took Bass with him into battle when the Civil War broke out. During an argument, Bass struck his master, and knowing that this was a death sentence for a slave, Bass ran away to live with Native Americans in Indian Territory.

   When the Civil War was over and he was free, Bass settled down, got married, and he and his wife had children. Bass was happy living in Indian Territory but then the area “became a haven for the West’s most notorious outlaws.” Judge Isaac C. Parker was sent to the territory, and he hired two hundred deputy marshals to help bring law and order back to the land. Bass was one of these deputy marshals, and he took his job very seriously, bringing in the outlaws he was sent to catch without resorting to undue violence. He was incorruptible, determined, and “as honest as the day was long.”

   In this fascinating picture book, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson beautifully tells the story of one of the West’s unsung heroes. Unlike many Wild West legends, this story is true. With gripping accounts of Bass Reeves’ exploits, the author keeps the reader engaged right to the last page.

Here is some information about the author and the illustrator:

About the Author:

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is the author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books for children, including Almost to Freedom, which received 2004 Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor Award. In addition to writing books, she has also been a teacher, newspaper reporter, bookseller, and school librarian. She lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

About the Artist:

R. Gregory Christie is an award-winning illustrator of many picture books, including Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth and The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children, for both of which he won Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor Award. His work has also appeared in The New Yorker and on music CD covers. He lives in New York City.

You might also like to visit the website that Lerner Publishing created for the book. Here you will find an author's note, background information, a discussion guide, a podcast with the illustrator, and much more.

Please consider purchasing the book through this blog.

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

When I was around twelve or thirteen, my English literature teacher, Mr. Lovesy, decided that he would show us that beautiful language could be found in many places. He introduced us to Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream speech." It blew us away. Most of knew very little about Martin Luther King Jr. We were in an English school on the island of Cyprus and the English (as in from England) curriculum in the school did not include much American history. Many years later I moved to the United States and I began the process of learning about my new country. Reviewing children's books has given me the opportunity to learn a great deal about Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Some of the books I have reviewed focus on one aspect of his life, while others look at the complete story of this extraordinary man. Here is my review of my favorite of these general books. 

Genius: Martin Luther King Jr.

Jennifer Fandel
Nonfiction
For ages 10 to 14
The Creative Company, 2005   ISBN: 978-1583413296

The son of a teacher and a pastor, Martin Luther King Jr. did not have to suffer many of the hardships that his father had had to endure. He had a comfortable home, plenty to eat, and he was able to get an education. But there was something that he did not have, something which no black person in the south had at that time. Martin did not have the same rights as white people. He lived in a society that was segregated and he had to accept that he was a lesser citizen who could not play where he wanted, who could not eat in the restaurant of his choice, and who could not sit at the front of the bus. He, like the millions of other black people living in the south, was a victim of segregation.

As he grew up Martin came to understand how cruel and unjust segregation was and he wanted to do what he could to bring it to an end. He worked hard to get a good education and he, like his father before him, became a pastor. Like his father too Martin knew in his heart that his people would never be able to give of their best if they were forced down by laws which kept them separate and decidedly unequal. So Martin set about working to get the laws repealed and in the end he gave his life for the struggle.

With wonderful period photographs, quotes, and a timeline at the bottom of the pages, this biography of Martin Luther King Jr. captures the essence of who Martin was and what he fought to do in his lifetime. Superbly written with poignancy and an obvious appreciation for the history of the times, this is a book which will help readers understand what made Martin Luther King Jr. such a world icon.

At the back of the book there is a “In His Words” section. Here readers will find the texts for two of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speeches: the one he gave in a high school in 1967, and the one he gave when he was presented with the Nobel Peach Prize in 1964.

You can see my other Martin Luther King Jr. children's book review here. 

Blog Book Tour - The Listeners by Gloria Whelan

Yesterday I read and reviewed a wonderful picture book called The Listeners. The author, Gloria Whelan, has written numerous books for young readers of all ages. Her books have won numerous awards, and she frequently uses her considerable writing skills to bring the past alive, weaving together fact and fiction to give her readers a compelling story.

Here is my review of The Listeners:

The Listeners

Gloria Whelan

Illustrated by Mike Benny

Picture Book

Ages 6 to 10

Sleeping Bear Press, 2009, 1585364193

Ella May has to work in the cotton fields all day and it is hard work for a child. In the evenings she has another important job to do, she goes to the great house where the Master lives and she sits under one of the windows to listen. None of the white folks bother to tell the slaves what is happening on the plantation, so they send the young children to listen under the windows. Then the children report back to the adults about what they have heard.

One night Ella May and her two friends Bobby and Sue hear that the Master is going to hire a new overseer “to boss” them. This is good news because the current overseer is a cruel man. On another night Ella May’s father gets a feeling that change is in the air. He tells Ella May that “dangerous times are coming,” and he needs Ella May to listen extra carefully. The news that she brings home that evening is joyous, and everyone has high hopes that real change lies ahead of them.

In this powerful and moving book, Gloria Whelan helps her young readers to see what it was like to be slave child on a southern plantation. She also shows readers that sometimes it pays to listen to what is being said around you, because information can be empowering.

With a simple text and rich illustrations, this picture book will take readers back in time, opening a window to the past.

This is one of the titles in the excellent Tales of Young Americans series.