Pub Date: September 4, 2018
Dewey: FIC
Lexile Code: 0000
Features: Price on Product
Target Age Group: 06 to 09
Physical Info: 0.30" H x 10.30" L x 8.30" W ( 0.40 lbs) 40 pages
BISAC Categories:
Juvenile Fiction | Historical | United States 20th Century | Social Themes | Prejudice Racism and Colorism | School and Education
Description:
The story of Mason Steele, an African American boy in 1960s Greenville, North Carolina, who relies on his inner strength and his typing skills to break racial barriers after he begins attending a "whites-only" high school.
Brief description:
Eric Velasquez has illustrated numerous award-winning books for children, and has authored some picture books as well. Among the awards he has received for his work are the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, the Carter G. Woodson Award, an NAACP Image Award, and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. When not illustrating book projects, Velasquez teaches book illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. He lives in Hartsdale, New York. You can visit him online at ericvelasquez.com.
Review Quotes:
"From the beautiful cover picture of the boy's fingers on the typewriter keys, to the ugly view of the racist bus driver who tells the black pupils to 'get to the back, ' Velasquez's handsome oil paintings on watercolor paper bring close the details of one boy's struggle. Told from a personal viewpoint and appended with a powerful author's note, this is a story to share across generations." -- Booklist
"The striking compositions in rich browns and blues, along with Tuck's pride in her family, help distinguish this story of perseverance and courage. This well-crafted tale would be an excellent complement to overviews of the Civil Rights Movement." -- School Library Journal
"Tuck lays bare the challenges that faced Mason and black students like him, but she also tempers the story's cold realities with moments of hope, echoed by the pride and determination." -- Publishers Weekly
Storyline Online Selection - SAG-AFTRA Foundation / Storyline Online
Land of Enchantment Book Award Shortlist - New Mexico Library Association
Martin Luther King Jr. "Living the Dream" Book Award - Manhattan Country School
New Voices Award Winner - Lee & Low Books
Show Me Readers Award Nominee - Missouri Association of School Librarians
Teachers' Choices - International Literacy Association (ILA)