Follow in Their Footsteps

Children's Literature - Betsy Barnett

The ten extremely readable biographies about such prominent African Americans as Malcolm X, Alex Haley, and Thurgood Marshall include a collection of photographs as well as a skit which describes an obstacle each famous person had to overcome. Through their stories, historical incidents and other famous people are discussed and evaluated. Within the collection, there is a nice division between men and women and among different careers. A helpful resource for those doing reports or who just want to read about some inspirational people who had to overcome great obstacles in order to protect their beliefs and people.

VOYA - Patty Sylvester Spencer

Nearly twenty-five years in the classroom taught Turner that children learn best through active involvement. In this volume, she invites young readers to act out anecdotes in the lives of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, writer/researcher Alex Haley, pilot Bessie Coleman, sculptress Edmonia Lewis, and six other African Americans who have helped shape our country. Each individual's background, goals, and accomplishments are described in simple, direct language. Numerous black-and-white photographs accompany the narratives. Short scripts, involving casts of four to nine (including narrators), focus on events selected for their appeal to young people. Storytelling techniques in both the biographies and the dramas weave together admiration for the subjects, in addition to their determination, and love of learning. Although this is not a footnoted volume, in the author's note Turner identifies her personal experiences while researching the text. While the name connections may not click with all readers, students will better understand the author's primary and secondary sources and processes. For teachers anxious to help students live and love nonfiction literature, this interactive volume could prove enormously beneficial. Index. Photos. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Broad general YA appeal, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8).

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-A collection of short sketches about 10 outstanding African Americans. The selections represent a broad spectrum of careers and contributions, from Mary Shadd, abolitionist and newspaper editor, born in 1823, to Malcolm X, religious leader and reformer, born 1925. Unfortunately, Turner's writing style is unimaginative and condescending. A short skit for children to perform follows each biographical sketch; all of them are equally poorly written and lack sufficient production information. The numerous black-and-white photographs are of good quality, and the index is adequate. However, information about all of these figures can be found in other collective biographies and/or dictionaries. Single biographies are available on most of them. Jessie Carney Smith's Notable Black American Women (Gale, 1991) is an excellent resource and duplicates some of the photos found in Turner's book.Marie Wright, University Library, Indianapolis, IN