Little Rock Nine

by Marshall T. Poe

Book Overview

Two teen friends, one black and one white, weather the fallout of school integration together in their hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Sixteen-year-old William McNally and fifteen-year-old Thomas Johnson both live in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the summer of 1957. They both love baseball and teasing their little sisters. There's just one big difference--William is white, and Thomas, the son of William's family's maid, is black.

After...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416950664
• ISBN13: 9781416950660
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

accessible without dumbing down

Great way to learn a little something (or maybe a lot of something) or brush up on your history. The format -- small, easy-to-hold paperback, clear and simple drawings -- makes it very easy for the reader to hook into the story. It follows two fictional families and some real-life figures (e.g. Gov. Faubus of Arkansas) from May 17, 1954, when Brown vs. Board of Education is announced on radios, through Sept. 25, 1957, when the Little Rock nine are escorted into Central High. We see how it was to live at that time (in a broad-strokes kind of way); these aren't just facts and figures, but your friendly radio announcer saying "the guards are now in position around Central High," and your TV showing your president talking about the integration order, and your grandfather saying nasty things about the neighborhood kids. A quick-enough read and highly accessible without dumbing down. I'll be seeking out others in the Turning Points series.

For parents, teachers, libraries, museums

Every fall when the new school year begins, I allow my high school freshmen to browse through their 1,000+page literature book and tell me what they'd like to read during the year. Invariably, one of them will find the pages that include a comic strip format on how comics are created. He or she will then enthusiastically begin sharing the pages with others, until half the class is reading over the material. There is nothing titillating there, no sex, drugs or violence. It's the format which attracts them. In the same way, the format in Little Rock Nine is perfect for getting its point across. I love that the story has been accurately researched and presented clearly at a level that will not insult the intelligence of older teens. But the greatest aspect of this little book is the graphic novel format. Kudos to the creators. It is the perfect size and design--great cover as well--to be displayed in classrooms, libraries and museums. I will be sharing it with my grandchildren, wishing I'd had it when my children were little.

5+ Star Graphical Look at One of Educations Defining Moments

William and Thomas have several things in common - they love teasing their baby sisters, enjoy playing baseball, and will attend the same high school. However, they have a major difference - William is white and Thomas is black. They want to be friends but the integration of Central High has tensions running high. It was during an after school altercation that William and Thomas see their friendship means more than anything else. William risks everything to come to the aid of Thomas and in doing so they educate themselves, their family and the kids that know them. Integration was difficult but cultural understanding is done one family at a time. I was totally blown away by this book. Now don't get me wrong, I read as many children's books as others because I'm a mother of two elementary students. But this book transformed a historical moment into a moving graphical novel. The graphics (much like a comic strip) gives added dimension to the historical nature of the story. My kids were totally engrossed in the story and they LOVED it. They found something different to talk about in every frame (faces, facts, figures, family, and friends). The story was familiar to them because we visited Central High on one of our family vacations and this book was right on track. I know what I will be giving for gifts over the next year, copies of LITTLE ROCK NINE, for all the children that I know. Deltareviewer Reviewing for Real Page Turners

A fun look at history!

I got this book expecting old information in a new forum, but the book delivered snippets of the Little Rock Nine's desegregation of Arkansas public schools that I hadn't known before. The graphic novel format is perfect because it delivers a lot of information on each page. I liked that the author looked at everyone's perspectives in the community and highlighted just how historic it really was that schools were desegregated. Integrated schools are something we all take for granted now, but this book shows just how much courage and risk went into getting blacks and whites to share the same classrooms. Considering that some of these same views are still held by people so many years later, this would be a great required reading book in some social studies classes. I'm going to pass it along to my children. Highly Recommended.

Really, Really, Really Good Graphic History!

I loved this book and will definitely give it a prominent place in my classroom. I will also look of The Sons of Liberty book and the upcoming A House Divided on the Civil War. Wow! This graphic history book packs a wallop and makes an impact that I have never gotten out the Little Rock Nine story before. Not to say it hasn't made an impact but this book made the strongest impact on me. I think many students will love it and understand more about desegregation in the South than ever before. I highly recommend it in schools and classrooms as well as great storytelling for interest and enjoyment outside of school. It is not boring.