Child of the Civil Rights Movement, by Paula Young Shelton

Child of the Civil Rights Movement, written by Paula Young Shelton, illustrated by Raul Colon, 2010, New York: Schwartz & Wade Books (978-0-375-95414-6)

Awards:  Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2011 Winner.

Author Website: http://www.paulasbooks.com

Illustrator Website:N/A

Media Used: watercolor paper, lead pencil, colored pencil, black lithograph pencil, several washes

Annotation:

This story tells the experiences of a young child who lives through the peak of the civil rights movement.  At only the age of four, the child participated in protests and watched the rise of Martin Luther King Jr.

Personal Reaction:

I enjoyed this story immensely.  It is written at a lower reading level, but the interest level is for someone older.  I enjoyed the fact that the main character was not aware of the impact that “Uncle Martin” was having on the protest.  Is importance wasn’t known until later, so this made the book more realistic.  One negative thing about the book was that I did not catch the name of the main character.

Published 2010/2011

Curricular Connection: American History highschool