Let It Shine #4 and #5

Pinkney, Andrea D. (2000). Let it shine. New York: Harcourt.

Grade Level: 4-8

Awards: Coretta Scott King Honor Award

Author’s Credibility: In the introduction, Andrea discussed how and why she wrote the book. She talked about all the hours of reading and research she did for the book. She also talked with her editor (Liz Van Doren) and her parents, who were participants of the civil right movement.

Summary: It is a collection of biographies and autobiographies of ten African Americans that helped improve the conditions during the civil rights struggles. Pinkney called these women “our freedom fighters” because they all were persistence in their fight for justice, even when their safety was threatened. Although there were many other African American women who fought these same issues of injustices, Pinkney wrote about these ten because they compelled her the most. The ten women were Sojourner Truth, Biddy Mason (born in MS) Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett (born in MS. Father worked at Shaw Univ. in Holly Springs, MS. School would later be named Rust College), Mary Bethune, Ella Josephine Baker, Dorothy Height (headed National Youth Movement, one of Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs), Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer (born in MS), and Chisholm. Within each story, Pinkney tells the events in chorological order.

Illustrations: Stephen Alcorn is an acclaimed painter and printmaker whose works are in many private and permanent collections around the world. He used oil on canvas to paint the allegorical portraits of these women.

Design: Hardcover has the same design as the dust jacket. It is an oversized, rectangular-shaped book that has the portrait of the woman and some of her accomplishments on one side and the text on the opposite page. The book is printed on totally chlorine-free Nymolla Matte Art paper.

Access Features: Introduction (This Little Light of Mine), table of contents, further readings, and some information about the author and illustrator on the inside of dust jacket.

Writing Style: Vivid language

Voice: Conversational/storytelling

Great lead-in: Quotes from spotlights in person’s life at the beginner of story

Tone: partisan

Standards: Civics, History, Economics

Usage in Classroom: Black History Unit

My Response: I liked this book. I was glad to find out that some of these women were from MS. That made me really proud. The print was a good size so students would enjoy reading it. Some interesting facts that I found out: Biddy Mason--Native Americans, one of the first to buy a house for $250. Ella Baker—President of NAACP (1954), worked with Dr. King, spearheaded the Greensboro’s Sit-ins. Dorothy Height—Earned BS and MS both as the same time, escorted Eleanor Roosevelt, speaker for a meeting for Mary Bethune, worked for a statue of Mary Bethune in Washington, D.C. Public Park. Fannie Lou Hamer—When she went to vote, they gave her the 16th section of the Constitution of MS to read.

Related Books:

Sojourner Truth: Ain't I A Woman?, Patricia and Fredrick McKissack
Ida Wells-Barnett, Steve Klots
Mary McLeod Bethune, Eloise Greenfield