Children’s / Teenage general interest: History and the past

Book SynopsisExplore the world of dinosaurs in this bright and bold board book full of peek-through holes, flaps, and surprises from the I Can Learn! series.Children will delight in exploring the pages, while learning all about dinosaurs in their many shapes and sizes!Learning is fun with the I Can Learn! series where young readers can explore colors, shapes, counting, and many other first concepts in these hands-on books. Manipulating special features such as tactile elements, sound buttons, and flaps is an excellent way for children to reinforce learning and strengthen hand-eye coordination.

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Book SynopsisThis “detailed, fascinating” (Booklist, starred review) nonfiction middle grade book explores a deeply troubling chapter in American history that is still playing out today: the strange case of Prince Edward County, Virginia, the only place in the United States to ever formally deny its citizens a public education, and the students who pushed back. In 1954, after the passing of Brown v. the Board of Education, the all-White school board of one county in south central Virginia made the decision to close its public schools rather than integrate. Those schools stayed closed for five years. While the affluent White population of Prince Edward County built a private school—for White children only—Black children and their families had to find other ways to learn. Some Black children were home schooled by unemployed Black teachers. Some traveled thousands of miles away to live with relatives, friends, or even strangers. Some didn’t go to school at all. But many stood up and became young activists, fighting for one of the rights America claims belongs to all: the right to learn.Trade ReviewGr 5 Up–In this detailed account of educational inequity in Prince Edward County, VA, Pearson educates young readers on systemic racism in the US and the importance of access to public education. The account starts in 1951, when a Black high school student named Barbara Johns led a student protest against the unfair conditions at her school. Her protest started a movement in the county, and with support from the NAACP, the case against the school district became one of the five in the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. the Board of Education. When ordered by the courts to desegregate their schools, the Prince Edward County school board voted to defund their public schools and instead provide public funding to vouchers for a white-only private school. For five years, Black students and many poor white students were not able to attend school. Pearson reflects on the negative impact this had on students’ futures, families, and community, and the lives of generations of students after. The epilogue discusses today’s young activists taking a stand on racism, education inequity during the COVID-19 school shutdown, and gun violence, emphasizing how young people can make positive change. Black-and-white photographs appear throughout; back matter includes a detailed index, time line, recommended reading, and glossary. VERDICT Highly recommended for middle school collections -- School Library Journal * 2/1/23 *In this significant nonfiction volume, Pearson (Conspiracy: Nixon, Watergate, and Democracy’s Defenders) crafts an in-depth look at Black teens fighting for their right for free education in 1950 Prince Edward County, Va. Due to segregation and the realities of separate but not equal, Black children were forced to attend schools that lacked fundamental resources, including textbooks, teachers, and proper facilities, where students were often expected to share a single outhouse in place of indoor bathrooms. Frustrated by these conditions, 16-year-old Barbara Johns (1935–1991), aided by her classmates and the local NAACP chapter, took the case to the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education; segregation was subsequently declared unconstitutional. Despite this historic declaration, however, Prince Edward County refused to integrate and instead closed its public schools and built a private academy that only admitted white students. This forced Black children to find alternative means for education, such as homeschooling or moving out of the state entirely, and exacerbated social and class divides within Black communities. The timeliness of this essential work highlights an important point in U.S. history, exploring class privilege and structural racism. B&w photographs feature throughout; a timeline concludes. Ages 10–14. Agent: Susan Hawk, Upstart Crow. (Jan.) -- Publishers Weekly * 12/5/2022 ** In 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Johns spoke out against the overcrowded, underfunded, grossly inadequate high school that she and other Black students attended in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The students' peaceful walkout shook up the community and provoked a fierce backlash, but it led to one of five lawsuits combined into the Brown v. Board of Education case, decided by the Supreme Court in 1954. Later, ordered to desegregate Prince Edward County’s schools, state and local officials vowed “massive resistance” and shut down the county’s public education system from 1959 to 1964. White, well-to-do residents built a private school for their kids and provided tax-payer-supported vouchers for certain other white children while locking all other students out of their classrooms for five years. A former history teacher and the author of Fighting for the Forest (2019) and Fly Girls (2019), Pearson begins with a useful preliminary chapter on Virginia history from 1607 to 1950, emphasizing attitudes toward Black people. The main text focuses on events in Prince Edward County during the tumultuous 1950s, 1960s, and beyond, showing how the lack of schooling impacted certain individuals and describing changes in the county through 2021. Illustrated mainly with black-and-white photos, here's a detailed, fascinating account of a little-known chapter in American history. -- Booklist, STARRED Review * 11/01/2022 *An African American teen organizes a student strike because of poor conditions at her school and triggers a countywide battle for equal education. Barbara Johns was concerned about the education she and her fellow high school students were receiving in their run-down, ill-equipped school in rural Prince Edward County, Virginia, in 1950. There was a dearth of books and even buses to get them to school. The local school board made no effort to improve schools attended by Black students. Barbara, 16, led strike efforts, supported by the local chapter of the NAACP. Many Black adults feared retaliation from Whites, and there were in fact efforts at intimidation after the NAACP filed a lawsuit on the students’ behalf. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional, Prince Edward County officials embarked on a campaign to resist complying that closed public schools in the county for five years; White students were educated privately through state funds. The drive to provide universal educational opportunities was an uphill climb for the county’s African Americans and their White allies. This is a detailed and dramatic depiction, rich in context, of the price a small community paid for seeking equality. It demonstrates the resilience of those who fought segregation while never downplaying how much was lost, and it provides evidence of ways the damage continues to have an impact today. A sobering study of the struggle for educational equity. (photo credits, timeline, selected bibliography, recommended reading, endnotes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14) -- Kirkus Reviews * 11/1/22 *

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Book SynopsisCelebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the law that opened the door for greater opportunities for girls and women, with this refreshed edition of the nonfiction illustrated middle grade book about an important victory in the fight for equality.Not long ago, people believed girls shouldn’t play sports. That math and science courses were too difficult for them. That higher education should be left to the men. Nowadays, this may be hard to imagine, but it was only fifty years ago all of this changed with the introduction of the historical civil rights bill Title IX. This is the story about the determined lawmakers, teachers, parents, and athletes that advocated for women all over the country until Congress passed the law that paved the way for the now millions of girls who play sports; who make up over half of the country’s medical and law students; who are on the national stage winning gold medals and world championships; who are developing life-changing vaccines, holding court as Supreme Court Justices, and leading the country as vice president. All because of Title IX and the people who believed girls could do anything—and were willing to fight to prove it. This updated edition of Let Me Play includes new chapters about how Title IX is being used in the fight for transgender rights and justice for sexual assault survivors and a refreshed epilogue highlighting the remarkable female athletes of today and the battles they’re still fighting.

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Book SynopsisCelebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the law that opened the door for greater opportunities for girls and women, with this refreshed edition of the nonfiction illustrated middle grade book about an important victory in the fight for equality.Not long ago, people believed girls shouldn’t play sports. That math and science courses were too difficult for them. That higher education should be left to the men. Nowadays, this may be hard to imagine, but it was only fifty years ago all of this changed with the introduction of the historical civil rights bill Title IX. This is the story about the determined lawmakers, teachers, parents, and athletes that advocated for women all over the country until Congress passed the law that paved the way for the now millions of girls who play sports; who make up over half of the country’s medical and law students; who are on the national stage winning gold medals and world championships; who are developing life-changing vaccines, holding court as Supreme Court Justices, and leading the country as vice president. All because of Title IX and the people who believed girls could do anything—and were willing to fight to prove it. This updated edition of Let Me Play includes new chapters about how Title IX is being used in the fight for transgender rights and justice for sexual assault survivors and a refreshed epilogue highlighting the remarkable female athletes of today and the battles they’re still fighting.

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Book SynopsisFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and leading historian Doris Kearns Goodwin comes a definitive middle grade guide to Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson and how they became leaders.Abraham Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Lyndon B. Johnson. They grew up and lived in very different worlds—Lincoln was poor and uneducated, his frontier cabin home deep in the harsh wilderness; Theodore Roosevelt hailed from an elegant home in the heart of New York City and traveled the world with his family; Franklin Roosevelt loved the outdoors surrounding his family’s rural estate where he was the center of attention; and Lyndon Johnson’s modest childhood home had no electricity or running water but provided a window into Texas politics. So how did each of them do it—rise to become President of the United States? What did these four kids ha

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Book SynopsisExplore the trends, fashion, technology, and inventions of the 1980s with this totally tubular Level 2 Ready-to-Read full of fun facts, illustrations, and interactive backmatter!In the 1980s, boom boxes and breakdancing were all the rage, Cabbage Patch Kids were flying off the shelves, and a new TV station called MTV was launched. Kids will love learning about all things 80s, like the first at-home video game consoles, jelly shoes, leg warmers, eighties slang, and VCRs! Lighthearted illustrations, photographs of the fashion and fads, and approachable language introduce young readers to all this and even more hallmarks of the awesome decade.

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Book SynopsisExplore the trends, fashion, technology, and inventions of the 1980s with this totally tubular Level 2 Ready-to-Read full of fun facts, illustrations, and interactive backmatter!In the 1980s, boom boxes and breakdancing were all the rage, Cabbage Patch Kids were flying off the shelves, and a new TV station called MTV was launched. Kids will love learning about all things 80s, like the first at-home video game consoles, jelly shoes, leg warmers, eighties slang, and VCRs! Lighthearted illustrations, photographs of the fashion and fads, and approachable language introduce young readers to all this and even more hallmarks of the awesome decade.

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