On a warm May day in 1963, young feet took the first steps on an inspiring crusade for civil rights. Through the observant eyes of a fictionalized girl, debut authorMonica Clark-Robinsondepicts the momentous events surrounding the Birmingham Children’s Crusade inLET THE CHILDREN MARCH, illustrated byFrank Morrison.
As the book opens, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has delivered a compelling speech calling for peaceful protest that has touched his listeners’ hearts and minds. But the adults feel torn by their desire to take action and their responsibilities to home and family. The children, equally moved, volunteer to unite and march in their parents’ stead. Dressed in their best clothes, the apprehensive but determined marchers walk hand in hand for change and freedom. Clark-Robinson pulls no punches in her succinct and moving descriptions of the events, noting the angry crowds, potent threats, and physical dangers. Yet her poetic text is underscored by the palpable sense of pride, courage and hope that sustain the young marchers throughout their ordeal, from march to imprisonment to release.
Morrison’s vibrant illustrations powerfully enhance Clark-Robinson’s tale, bringing to life the intensity of terrible experiences that the marchers endured. Adults as well as children are represented with portrait-like detail throughout. They convey serious, determined dignity through their steady eyes and calm, straight-shouldered stances. While the faces are ultimately most compelling, Morrison incorporates signs, hoses, flags and fences that communicate the hostile environment with depth and poignancy.
LET THE CHILDREN MARCH will surely spur important and essential conversations between young readers and the adults who share this book with them. Additional information is supplied in an afterword, a bibliography and sources of quotations. A timeline, illustrated across the endpapers, grounds the tale from beginning to end by showcasing the young faces that helped sow the first seeds for justice and freedom.
Reviewed by Cathy Ballou Mealey
Where obtained: I reviewed a digital advanced reader copy from the publisher and received no other compensation. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Today is Multicultural Children’s Book Day and we’re SO excited!! We’ve got one book from our friends atLee and Low Booksthat we’re talking about today, and two more we’ll mention below that are also must-reads. But before you get the scoop aboutLittle Melba and Her Big Trombone, learn about the origins of MCBD and help us celebrate and promote diversity in kidlit. Use the hashtag #ReadYourWorld and spread the word!
THE MISSION OF MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S BOOK DAY: Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day, Mia and Valarie are on a mission to change all of that. Their mission is to not only raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but to get more of these types of books into classrooms and libraries. Another goal of this exciting event is to create a compilation of books and favorite reads that will provide not only a new reading list for the winter, but also a way to expose brilliant books to families, teachers, and libraries.
The co-creators of this unique event are Mia Wenjen fromPragmatic Momand Valarie Budayr fromJump Into a Book/Audrey Press. You can find a bio for Mia and Valariehere.
You can find the MCBD blog and links to all the other participating siteshere.
REVIEW: Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
Pick an instrument, any instrument – would you pick the trombone? Well, in Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, (Lee and Low, $18.95, Ages 4-8) by Katheryn Russell-Brownwith illustrations byFrank Morrison, that’s exactly what Melba Doretta Liston did and never once looked back! This eye-opening fictionalized picture book biography recounts the story of a jazz pioneer whose contribution to the music industry is presented in irresistible prose and artwork certain to get your toes tapping and fingers snapping.
Born in pre-Depression Kansas City, Melba had the music in her from an early age. In fact making music would always matter to Melba. It was easy to be influenced when “avenues were lined with jazz club, street bands, and folks harmonizing on every corner.” From blues to jazz to gospel, Melba loved it all and soaked up all the sounds around her. At age seven she chose a “shiny trombone: from the traveling music store and, with the help of her grandpa and her keen ear, Melba learned how to play it.
In the years following the Depression, things got tough financially for Melba’s mom so together the two moved to Los Angeles where Melba’s trombone talent really took off. Eventually, when she was just seventeen, Melba toured the country with trumpeter Gerald Wilson’s band. With the popularity of jazz sweeping the nation, Melba’s prowess on her beloved brass instrument stood out on stages everywhere. “She composed and arranged music, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs.”
This young woman was a musical force to be reckoned with. But the harsh realities of racial segregation she and the band experienced while touring down South meant “some white folks didn’t show good manners toward folks with brown skin.” This brought Melba to the brink of quitting, but ultimately she persevered, playing her horn with the likes of “Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones and more.” She even toured briefly with Billie Holiday. Melba’s career took her around the world and garnered her numerous awards including being named Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, “the highest honor the U.S. gives to a jazz artist.”
Helpful back matter includes an Afterword, a Selected Discography and Author’s Sources. This pioneering, brass playing woman has left a legacy of music to learn and love, as well as a tale that begged to be told. I’m thrilled Russell-Brown found Melba’s inspiring story and conveyed it so beautifully. Russell-Brown’s words coupled with Morrison’s warm and spirited illustrations take us back in time so when we’re done reading we feel as if we’ve been on the road with Melba Liston, and that’s really something special!
RELATED ACTIVITY: Make a musical instrument with your child
Simply get an empty toilet paper roll, scissors, wax paper, a rubber band (or masking tape), fun stickers, and something sharp like the point of the scissors (NOTE: for parents to do only!). Cut a piece of the wax paper that is large enough to completely cover the hole at one end with room to spare for fastening it down. Use a rubber band or masking tape to hold the wax paper in place. One option is to make small holes in the wax paper then have your child decorate the toilet roll with stickers or patterned duct tape and try out the sound. Another option is to make one hole in the part of the toilet paper roll that is not covered by the wax paper, and no holes in the wax paper. Have your child compare the sounds these two types of kazoos make. Try making the instrument with a paper towel roll instead. Is the sound any different using a long paper roll? Will more holes cut into the toilet paper roll or paper towel rolls make the sounds change?
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