Sharing Black Pride, Heroic History

It’s true, you can’t judge a book by its cover. But that still didn’t stop an author friend of mine from changing publishers after a protracted fight over the cover illustration for one book, or from spending weeks setting up a photo shoot for the dust jacket of another. (In the latter case, by the way, that time would have been better spent rewriting the book, but that’s another story.)

But the title--well, you’re supposed to judge a book by that. Which is why I was so intrigued by Sandy Lynne Holman’s “Grandpa, Is Everything Black Bad?” (illustrated by Lela Kometiani; Culture CO-OP; 32 pages; $18.95).

The inspiration for the book, if not the title, came from an experience Holman had when she was working as a counselor for the North Sacramento School District. A young black girl had been so troubled by a class discussion on slavery, she was brought to Holman’s office in tears, embarrassed by her heritage. Ethnic pride had been instilled in Holman at an early age by her grandfather Rufus, and the incident at school spurred her to find a way to make his wisdom available to other children.

The first half of the book--which is suitable for readers through the sixth grade--is written in verse and basically restates the title’s question. In the second half, Grandpa answers the question with a prideful primer on African history and culture. Unfortunately, Grandpa frequently speaks in dialect, calling children “younguns,” for example, dropping the final consonants in some words and using “ain’t” instead of “aren’t.” That may be how Grandpa Rufus spoke, but quoting him correctly in a book for children who are just beginning to read and write is an extremely unfortunate lapse that mars an otherwise interesting book.

*

The story of slavery remains one of the sorriest chapters in this nation’s past, but just as in any other historic event, there were otherwise average people who met the challenge of the moment head-on and deserve to be remembered as heroes. Author Barbara Greenwood and illustrator Heather Collins introduce us to some of them in “The Last Safe House: A Story of the Underground Railroad” (119 pages; $16.95, $9.95 in paperback), an unusually eclectic book from the energetic Canadian publisher Kids Can Press, which is quickly becoming my favorite children’s imprint.

The book, which is aimed at middle-school students, tells the story of the Jackson family’s flight from slavery in the United States to Ontario, Canada--the end of the line for the underground railroad--where they are taken in by the Reids. Told in a straightforward way, the story would be interesting. But Greenwood truly brings it to life by interspersing her narrative with short asides describing life on the plantation, songs from the period, biographical sketches of historical figures like Frederick Douglass and suggestions for acting out parts of the story. The book concludes with a glossary and bibliography.

With support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, Kids Can Press has released a number of challenging and intelligent children’s titles in the last two years--books that engage and entertain but never fail to educate.

*

Michael L. Cooper takes a much more traditional approach in “The Double V Campaign: African Americans and World War II” (Lodestar Books; 86 pages; $16.99). Which isn’t to say it’s not educational--I couldn’t get past the second paragraph without learning something, mainly that the influential black-owned newspaper, the Pittsburgh Courier, hoped to make the American Army’s World War II fight against injustice abroad part of its rallying cry for racial justice here at home. Hence the formation of the Double Victory Campaign.

The book recounts the racism many black soldiers faced from the Army at the beginning of the war, and the subsequent ambivalence some felt over the possibility of dying overseas for a country that subjected them to frequent humiliation at home. But it also recounts how many black soldiers, such as Lt. Oscar Davenport, Maj. Charles L. Thomas and Edward Allen Carter Jr., nonetheless performed feats of great bravery.

Written in a sparse journalistic style, the book looks and feels like a textbook and is most appropriate for junior high and high school students. But it truly has something for interested readers of all ages.