Brimner, Larry Dane. Black & White.

Brimner, Larry Dane.    Black & White.    Boyd's Mills/Calkins Creek    112p $16.95 978-1-59078-766-3       ms/hs       E-BN           

This pictorial history of the confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor takes readers through the years of the late 1950s to the mid 1960s when the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing.  The author has chosen Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth to follow during this era, and although he is not as famous as some other African Americans, he did play a major role in fighting and confronting Bull Connor.  The progression of the confrontation led Bull Connor to ignore the fact that the whole world was watching it on TV.  Despite the violence shown the African American marchers, which left many of them injured, their persistence won the day.

The pictures in this book chronicle the movement for civil rights and the violence it encountered.  It is an excellent book to complement the African American curriculum, with plenty of photos, little known facts, an author’s note, a bibliography, and source notes. -- Magna Diaz

Tougas, Shelley. Little Rock Girl, 1957.

Tougas, Shelley.  Little Rock Girl, 1957.  Compass Point Books/Capstone, 2012.  64p.      $33.99  ISBN 978-0-7565-4440-9      ms/jr VG-BNS           
     The premise of this book, and, indeed, the entire series, is "Can a photo change the world?"  By taking one of the 100 most important photos of the 20th century, and telling the story behind it, Tougas has given us a compelling and enlightening look at the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle for integration.  The photos, by Will Counts and others, portray vividly the conflict at Little Rock High School, and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole.  Historical background, well-placed first-person narratives, important quotations, brief biographies of key players, as well as stunning photos, make this a book that readers will remember. 
     A timeline, glossary, extensive chapter notes, and a useful bibliography complete the volume.  The format is large, perfect for the discussion of important photos, and the cover is stunning.  Other books in the series, Captured History, include Birmingham 1963, Man on the Moon, and Migrant Mother.  Each takes a pivotal photo as a focal point and brings the story home for middle-school readers. There are six books in the series at this time.  If all are as good as this volume, all should be included in middle-school collections.  It is an outstanding book!   

Subjects: 1. Integration, 2. Little Rock Nine, 3. Civil Rights Movement

Pat Naismith