McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick. Jesse Owens.

McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick.  Jesse Owens.  Enslow     2013  24p  $21.26  978-0-7660-4104-2        series: Famous African Americans.  elem  Biography  VG-BN     

Coretta Scott King Award recipients Patricia and Fredrick McKissack have written over 100 books focusing on the African-American experience.  They have teamed up once more to provide a simple biography of legendary track star Jesse Owens intended for elementary school readers.  The spare text, combined with archival photos and full-color illustrations to fill in gaps, offers a solid introduction to the Olympic athlete who won four gold medals at Hitler’s 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

Unlike many juvenile biographies about Jesse Owens, this one does not begin and end with the track star’s Olympic experiences.  Owens’s childhood and collegiate experiences at Ohio State are given due diligence. The McKissacks also share  Owens’s tough times following the Olympics.  Poor business sense and a failed academic career did not deter Owens from a successful career working with and inspiring young people through youth athletic programs for the rest of his life. He penned two books and was given an award by President Carter in 1979.

The themes of perseverance in overcoming adversity and the pursuit of excellence are important ones for young readers.  This volume will find useful application in many areas of the elementary curriculum.  Though it is too long for storytime purposes, young readers will enjoy reading the story independently.    

Jesse Owens, Track and field athletes-Biography, African American athletes-Biography                                    –Hilary Welliver

McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick. Mary McLeod Bethune.

McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick.   Mary McLeod Bethune.    Enslow  2013  24p  $21.26  978-0-7660-4103-5  series: Famous African Americans.  elm/ms    Biography  E-BNS

This short book succinctly details the life of Mary Jane McLeod in short chapters ideal for beginning and young readers.  The font, page layout, colorful pictures, and black-and-white photographs, combined with a lower reading level, make this fact-filled book nonthreatening for younger readers.  The manner in which the biography is presented is as inspiring as the legendary woman herself.

Patricia and Fredrick McKissack have created a biography that will delight, motivate, and engage readers.  Following Mary Jane’s childhood, her determination to get an education is described, as well as her notable position in the White House, where she was requested by the president to serve in the National Youth Administration.  The impact of that appointment will entertain and inspire young readers.  The table of contents, glossary, list of resources for further information, and index also make this a great resource for beginning researchers.

This is one book in the Famous African Americans series. Other titles cover Booker T. Washington, Jesse Owens, Madam C. J. Walker, and Marion Anderson.

Mary McLeod Bethune                                   --Virginia McGarvey