In 2016 Bolden received the Nonfiction Award from the Children’s Book Guild of Washington in recognition of her entire body of work which has “contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children.”
As a child Bolden’s parents were frugal, yet generous when it came to buying books. She recalls that they never denied her the books she included on her wish lists. She writes that as a child she was crazy about reading and writing and her parents encouraged her to earn a living doing something she absolutely loved. However, as a child she was pointedly bored by history—because it was presented in such uninteresting ways (she was born in 1959 prior to the explosion of amazing historical nonfiction books). She did not see herself or her African American people in history. When her uncle tried to interest her in black history she found herself thinking, “I don’t care,” opting instead for Little House on the Prairie. Teachers are encouraged to share this Bolden quote with students, “I write because I am the beneficiary of the prayers, hopes, and labors of generations of people I never knew who braved water cannons, police dogs, burning crosses on lawns, so that I might have wider opportunities. How could I not contribute?”
It is important for readers to understand that this is a scrapbook of experience and does not follow a story progression. Every part of this nonfiction book should be explored, beginning with the symbol between the title and the author’s name on the cover page. The following page explains the meaning behind the Ghanian symbol which essentially means that one must return to the past to move forward. Other parts of the book to explore are the Acknowledgments, Preface, Table of Contents, Source Notes, Suggested Reading, and Illustration Credits. All these features relate to standards for grades 5-8.
In the Preface, Bolden shares that she never envisioned this book for black children only. Or for children only. Her ideal reader is a family—two or more generations engaging with the book together. To honor this, teachers may use parts of the book in classrooms and then assign parts as homework, asking parents to share memories and mementos of their own childhoods as part of the reading and discussing. Perhaps a class scrapbook could be created that would contain the stories of students in the classroom, with contributions from their families and community members. Most of the standards for nonfiction and research would be addressed in such a project. I would be honored to collaborate with a class of 5th-8th graders willing to take on such a project and can envision important primary source documentaries from classrooms all over the United States—each inspired by this book.
A less ambitious project could be to have students study portions of the book, such as the excerpts from memoirs and diaries. They would use these as mentor texts and write short stories about things that are meaningful to them. I actually did this in a classroom of 5th-8th graders when teaching them to write memoir, a form of writing that is expected in the standards for nonfiction writing.
When I read this book I gave it a five-star rating. Why? It is nonfiction writing at its best for 5th-8th graders. The topic is definitely relevant—more so than when it was first published in 2001. The information about memories of being young and black in America is presented like a scrapbook. There are narratives provided by black adults who share their childhood realities; primary and secondary source photos, newspaper clippings, and engravings, and context narratives provided by Bolden that create a tapestry of life for black children from the birth of a black child in Jamestown through 2001. This book brings to light how black children have worked and played, suffered and rejoiced. Both unknown and celebrated children are featured. The black experience is illuminated for today’s youth to learn from, to be inspired by, and to ache with caring for children they never knew.
Teaching Points: Diversity, Empathy, Cultural Identity, Oral History, Source of Interesting Facts, Slice of Life Writing
Pathways Themes: My World & Others, Social Issues & Culture, Personal Feelings & Growth, Yesterday
Reviewed by Krystal Bishop, EdD
Professor of Education
Southern Adventist University
Author: James Marshall
