Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone : The Brown V. Board of Education Decision

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Summary: Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone, Ed. Joyce Carol Thomas
Review: One of the most moving and memorable reading experiences that your child will have is "Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone," edited by the celebrated children's author, Joyce Carol Thomas. Cover-to cover, from the commemorative opening of this volume of stories and the stirring introduction by Ms. Thomas, to the very last story, this is by far one of the best anthologies that has been written for young people. In Jerry Spinelli, Eloise Greenfield, Lois Lowry, Quincy Troupe, Katherine, Joyce Carol Thomas, Michael Cart, Ishmael Reed, Jean Craighead George, Leona Nicholas Welch, you will find some of the finest writing in a single volume.
Joyce Carol Thomas has managed to gather together this very fine ensemble of writers and asked them to remember where they were when the Brown vs. Board of Education decision was handed down by the Supreme Court. They have all written stories worth reading over and over again. A full range of emotions, are expressed in these pages-anger, despair, hope, humor, sadness. These writers speak very forthrightly about racism, segregation, and injustice. They speak candidly about their own fears, loss of innocence, and their own hope for the future. They speak about the work that we still have to do as a society to bring full equality to every person. They also speak about our miserable failure at doing so. This is one of the strongest aspects of this collection-that it never condescends to its intended audience. The editor and the writers rightfully expect that their young readers have the maturity and the intellectual capacity to be able to embrace the varied truths and emotions expressed in this book. A volume like this requires that kind of trust between writer and reader. And, this makes this book one of the very best that I have read.
Editor Thomas has brought together the right mix of writers, who with grace and clarity, provide a very unforgettable reading experience for our children. Ms. Thomas' own poem "Stormy Weather" is no exception. It is one of my favorites. And, last but not least, is the exquisite artwork of Curtis James! You'd have to look inside the book to really see how beautiful his work is!
Thank all of these writers and illustrator, Curtis James by buying "Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone." Read it to your children. Read it with them. It's a magnificent read for adults, too! It's required reading for all of us.