Laura Baskes Litwin

A free black man born in the United States in 1731, Benjamin Banneker went to school for a while but had to quit to help on the farm. In order to continue his studies, he borrowed books from his teacher and from friends and neighbors. Since many people of the day could not read, Banneker’s family and friends sought him out when they needed to read or figure something. Not until Banneker was in his 50s did he gain his interest and accomplishment in astronomy through a family friend, which led Banneker to write and publish six farmer’s almanacs, to work as a surveyor in the capital city, and to communication with Thomas Jefferson, condemning the practice of slavery. Carefully documented although neutral and a bit dry in tone, Litwin’s book captures the life of this self-taught mathematician, worthy of study.… (plus d'informations)

Laura Baskes Litwin's Fannie Lou Hamer: Fighting for the Right to Vote analyzes the political life of sharecropper turned civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. Along with her launch into the voting rights arena in the summer of 1962 up until a 1976 recognition of her accomplishments by the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C., the book sharply documents the key events of the civil rights era that help reaffirm that Hamer was indeed a courageous woman in the face of hatred and dissention. More of her private life needed to be investigated for the account though as we learn through scant mention that she had a long-suffering husband and a daughter that died from malnutrition. That end of things would probably have entailed a larger book not aimed at the young adult readership the slimmer book targets. This is a good companion piece to the study of modern American history at the eighth grade and high school level.… (plus d'informations)

"Litwin, whose previous titles include Fannie Lou Hamer: Fighting for the Right to Vote (2002), offers an engaging portrait of legendary author and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston's childhood was remarkable, in part because it was spent in Eatonville, Florida, the first self-governed, all–African American town in the U.S. That groundbreaking setting, along with lively anecdotes from these early years—fights with her father, encouragement from her mother, precocious conversations with strangers—will easily spark young readers' curiosity. Well-paced later chapters follow Hurston through her remarkable career, noting her extensive research into Caribbean voodoo, and include a skimming overview of her tumultuous personal life. Generously sprinkled with excerpts from Hurston's own works and illustrated with numerous black-and-white portraits of Hurston and her prominent friends and collaborators (including Langston Hughes), this strong entry in the African-American Biography Library will draw researchers as well as browsers. Source notes for direct quotes and a bibliography of suggested readings close. Engberg, Gillian" From Booklist… (plus d'informations)