Author: Shelley Tougas
Publisher: Compass Point Books
Publication Date: August 2011
Format: e-galley
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Other Books in the Series:
Captured History series:
Birmingham 1963 : how a photograph rallied civil rights support
Breaker Boys --how a photograph helped end child labor
Man on the moon : how a photograph made anything seem possible
Migrant mother : how a photograph defined the Great Depression
Raising the flag : how a photograph gave a nation hope in wartime
How I Got It: free from NetGalley
Cover image provided by Jennifer Glidden of Capstone Publications.
Summary from back of book:
Cover image provided by Jennifer Glidden of Capstone Publications.
Summary from back of book:
Nine African-American students made history when they defied a governor and integrated an Arkansas high school in 1957. It was the photo of one of the nine trying to enter the school - a young girl being taunted, harassed and threatened by an angry mob - that grabbed the world's attention and kept its disapproving gaze on Little Rock, Arkansas. In defiance of a federal court order, Governor Orval Faubus called in the National Guard to proven the students from entering all-white Central High School. A chilling photo by newspaper photographer Will Counts captured the sneering expression of a girl in the mob and made history. Years later Counts snapped another photo, this one of the same two girls, now grownup, reconciling in front of Central High School.
Review:
Having grown up in Little Rock I knew I had to get Little Rock Girl when I saw it on NetGalley. Of course I knew the story, everybody in Arkansas knows about the Little Rock Nine. My best friend went to Central High; my family was very involved in the volunteer community and had met the late Daisy Bates on several occasions; I knew people who had been extras in Disney's The Earnest Green Story and I clearly remember the filming; some of my parents coworkers were members of the Central High class that never graduated; I remembered the 40th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine when then President Clinton returned to Arkansas to help celebrate; heck, I even knew the gentleman who created the monument - man I knew stuff about this event. And I was surprised by the things I didn't know.
I knew that Elizabeth Eckford never got the news that all of the students were to meet at Daisy Bates' house (head of the state's chapter of the NAACP) so that they could all walk to school together. I'm sure we've all seen the photo of the white mob with twisted faces spewing hatred at an African-American student trying to walk to school. However, I didn't know how far that mob had followed the 15-year-old Eckford. They surrounded her at a bus stop and threatened to lynch her! She was 15 years old and these adults, and their children of the same age, thought it was ok to murder her! I also didn't know that chances were the only reason Elizabeth Eckford got away was because members of the press and a good samaritan kept the crowd at bay until the bus came. While I was familiar with the photograph I had no idea that this photograph had made such an impact on the country and the world at that time. I had always seen it as one of many pictures of ugliness, not one that had made such a difference. (Will Counts, the photographer was nominated for a Pulitzer and the Associated Press named it one of the top 100 photographs of the 20th century.)
Little Rock Girl is 64 pages of clearly written history, unflinching in it's approach, but appropriate for its 5th-8th grade target audience. It recounts not only the events of the nearly 3 years of attempted integration, but other incidents, the Little Rock Nine's impact on the nation, as well as what happened with the photographer, the students, and some of those who opposed their chance at education (including Hazel Bryan, forever known as the viscous girl following Eckford). Little Rock Girl includes current pictures of those involved as well as a variety of other photographs from the integration of Central High. While not as bloody as some Civil Rights era pictures, some are violent and underscore the brutality of what African-Americans and civil rights supporters of all races were up against.
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| A mob follows Elizabeth Eckford after the National Guard turn her away from Central High |
Little Rock Girl is 64 pages of clearly written history, unflinching in it's approach, but appropriate for its 5th-8th grade target audience. It recounts not only the events of the nearly 3 years of attempted integration, but other incidents, the Little Rock Nine's impact on the nation, as well as what happened with the photographer, the students, and some of those who opposed their chance at education (including Hazel Bryan, forever known as the viscous girl following Eckford). Little Rock Girl includes current pictures of those involved as well as a variety of other photographs from the integration of Central High. While not as bloody as some Civil Rights era pictures, some are violent and underscore the brutality of what African-Americans and civil rights supporters of all races were up against.
Verdict:
A well written an honest approach to the events surrounding the Little Rock Nine's attempt to integrate Central High. Little Rock Girl also includes the affects of these events on those involved as the years passed. Includes a timeline, additional resources, and multiple photographs and interviews. An excellent addition to any school or public library, Little Rock Girl is a great resource for those looking for more information on this facet of the Civil Rights movement.
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