Reviews for Lillian%27s right to vote %3A a celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Centenarian Lillian takes slow steps up a hill to her polling place, contemplating the metaphorical steps taken by her predecessors. Winter weaves a good amount of African American history and civil rights information throughout his earnest tale of one familys tragedies and triumphs. Evans's angular, textured mixed-media illustrations spotlight Lillian's family members and the tale's historical eras. An author's note is appended. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* An elderly woman stands at the bottom of a steep hill, determined to walk to the top to cast her vote. As she climbs she recalls significant people and events that have led her to this day: her great-great-grandparents being sold at a slave auction, her great-grandpa picking cotton, her uncle failing unfair voting registration tests, her parents being deterred from the polls, cross burnings, civil rights marches, and, finally, the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Evans' mixed-media illustrations both complement and extend Winter's poignant text. The use of full-bleed color spotlights Lillian and contemporary events, while memories are depicted in a muted, less finished style. Readers will also note how the sun signals the passage of time, as the story moves from dawn to moonlit night. An afterword details the story's inspiration African American Lillian Allen, who voted in 2008 at age 100 and notes how the 1965 Voting Rights Act has been diminished by a 2013 Supreme Court decision. Simple yet powerful, Lillian's narrative transforms a complex topic into an affecting story suitable for a younger audience, making it a perfect introduction to voting and civil rights. An important book that will give you goose bumps.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2015 Booklist


Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In a book commemorating the Voting Rights Act of 1965, readers are introduced to 100-year-old black Alabaman Lillian, who recalls her long-delayed journey to exercise her American right to vote 50 years ago. As Lillian climbs the "very steep hill" to the courthouse to vote, she reminisces about the struggles that African-Americans faced and overcame on the way to the passage of the historic law that dismantled the widespread exclusionary practices that African-Americans encountered to that point and guaranteed their right to vote. She's reminded of the legacy of slavery that her great-grandparents Edmund and Ida survived and of the 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote, yet angry mobs of white locals forced her parents to back away, holding little Lillian by the hand. She pauses to recall the actions in Selma, 1965. She arrives at the voting booth and presses the lever. In Evans' mixed-media illustrations, a stooped Lillian makes her slow way up the hill as the tableaux of history play out on the page. She is dressed in vibrant colors, contrasting with the faded, translucent historical images. A burning cross figures in one powerful spread; another joins 100-year-old Lillian to her 50-years-younger self at the gutter, emphasizing her determination to claim her rights. A much-needed picture book that will enlighten a new generation about battles won and a timely call to uphold these victories in the present. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.


School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 1-4-Lillian may be old, but it's Voting Day, and she's going to vote. As she climbs the hill (both metaphorical and literal) to the courthouse, she sees her family's history and the history of the fight for voting rights unfold before her, from her great-great-grandparents being sold as slaves to the three marches across Selma's famous bridge. Winter writes in a well-pitched, oral language style ("my, but that hill is steep"), and the vocabulary, sentence structure, and font make the book well-suited both for independent reading and for sharing aloud. The illustrations, though, are what truly distinguish this offering. Lillian is portrayed in resolute left-to-right motion, and her present-day, bright red dress contrasts with the faded greens, blues, and grays of the past, sometimes in a direct overlay. A bright yellow sun, which readers may recognize from Evans's illustrations in Charles R. Smith Jr.'s 28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World (Roaring Brook, 2015), symbolizes hope as it travels across the sky. The story concludes on an emphatic note, with a close-up of Lillian's hand on the ballot lever. An author's note provides historical context, including information about the woman who inspired Lillian (Lillian Allen, who in 2008 at age 100 voted for Barack Obama), and ends by reminding readers that protecting voting rights is still an ongoing issue. VERDICT A powerful historical picture book.-Jill Ratzan, I. L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJ © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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