Malcolm X

November 1, 2011

Gr 2-3-While this series covers familiar ground, it nonetheless provides solid facts about six civil rights fighters who shaped American history and helped pave the way for African Americans to gain equality. It delivers basic information about these crusaders, but it mostly focuses on their accomplishments and their positions in the civil rights fights of their respective times. The pages alternate between the text (with "Let Freedom Ring" side boxes that provide supplemental information) and large, captioned color photographs. Vocabulary words in bold are defined at the end of each book. With their clear information, short sentence structure, and linear writing, these books would be useful for basic reports.

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2012
Grades 2-4 Figures as dynamic and complicated as Malcolm X will always be challenging to introduce to young readers, but the Civil Rights Crusaders series makes a strong effort with the simple, straightforward, and brief biography. While the larger contexts of segregation and racism are left largely unexplored, the specifics are interesting regardless: Malcolm's father talked a lot about black pride before he was murdered, and that planted a seed in Malcolm's head before he began selling drugs and ended up in jail. That was where Malcolm was introduced to the Nation of Islam, setting off a tumultuous relationship that found the newly eloquent speaker increasingly at odds with the NOI's belief that blacks and whites could not live together in peace. The photographs on every right-hand page are a bit repetitiveblack-and-white shots of Malcolm speaking, though it is nice to see the man smiling with his familybut info boxes (why he changed his last name to X, etc.) break up the layout nicely. Sturdy back matter, including a time line, round out this solid offering.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)