Comments on: Best Books of 2009: Biographies and Memoirs

By: Venta

Venta — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:18:30 +0000

There seems to be two types of nonfiction for children and young adults: the books kids need to write reports for school and books that can be read for pleasure the same way adults read nonfiction. It’s often hard to find the latter although more librarians are putting out lists of good nonfiction for the younger set.

By: Sarah Statz Cords

Sarah Statz Cords — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:35:24 +0000

Thanks for the great suggestion, Venta! It’s always great to hear about great YA nonfiction titles–they don’t get much attention.

By: Venta Silins

Venta Silins — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:14:06 +0000

For young adults, I would suggest Phillip Hoose’s, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. His biography of Claudette Colvin provides a firsthand glimpse of the Montgomery bus strike of the 1950s and one teenager’s active role in the civil rights movement. In her own words, Colvin describes how she was arrested for not giving up her bus seat to a white woman nine months before Rosa Parks did the same. However, Colvin had a different experience from Parks. She was a teenager; she had no connection to the active civil right movement in Montgomery in the 1950s; and she stood up for herself before anyone in Montgomery, black or white was ready for it. This is a well researched account of the little known events prior to the monumental steps of Rosa Parks. Colvin is given her proper place within the civil right movement. The author interviewed Colvin and other people working toward justice in Montgomery during this turbulent time.