Gr 4-6 -The first title moves from a cursory overview of the post-Reconstruction South through the Harlem Renaissance to the Great Depression. Unfortunately, the migration to New York and resulting Harlem Renaissance are addressed above all other topics, and the trends depicted in a map of the population gains and losses of states during the Great Migration are not explained in the accompanying text. Speaking Out illustrates the origins of the Civil Rights Movement in Jim Crow laws, the start of the NAACP, and the end of World War II to the ultimate division between philosophies as seen through Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. The simple text is punctuated by high-quality photographs and bolstered by quotes from important figures discussed on that page. However, while the text is accessible and the artwork evocative, the treatment is oversimplified at times. Ruby Bridges, for example, is not mentioned at all, freedom riders are only seen in a caption, and while it is noted that Malcolm X's life "changed in jail," his religious conversion is not mentioned. While these titles clearly fill a gap for middle-grade titles on events relating to African-American history, they provide only an introduction. Researchers in need of further information or a more gripping description of the realities of either movement will require meatier texts. While few comparable resources about the Great Migration exist, students doing research on civil rights will find Diane McWhorter's A Dream of Freedom (Scholastic, 2004) more substantial.-Jill Heritage Maza, Conn Elementary, Raleigh, NC
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