Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History

Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History
by Walter Dean Myers
illustrated by Floyd Cooper
HarperCollins, 2017
review copy provided by the publisher

Frederick Douglass helped to write history, and his story is one that can inspire young people follow in his footsteps, becoming strong readers and effective speakers in order to change the wrongs they see in their world.

When Frederick Douglass realized that his owner wanted to prevent him from learning to read in order to keep him in his place, and when he listened to the owner's children speaking clearly and directly, using all the right words, "He knew that reading could make a difference in how a person lived."

Douglass' eloquent speaking ability was utilized by the abolitionists. "Here was a man who could actually tell people what it was like to be a slave." Douglass also became a writer, a leader in urging Lincoln to enlist black soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War, and the consul-general for the U.S. in Haiti.

Nonfiction Mentor Text (and a GREAT man)

Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born
by Gene Barretta
illustrated by Frank Morrison
HarperCollins/Katherine Tegan Books, 2017
review copy provided by the publisher

This book has a unique text structure, making it interesting for study as a mentor text.

Rather than beginning with Muhammad Ali's childhood, this picture book biography starts with a series of dated snapshots of Ali's key fights -- his surprise first win over Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight championship in 1964, his rematch and win over Liston in 1965, his defeat of George Foreman in 1974 when he won the world heavyweight championship for a second time, and the 1978 fight with Leon Spinks when he became the first boxer to win the world heavyweight championship three times.The word POW is prominent in each spread, along with famous quotes by Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali).

If that isn't enough to hook the reader, this sentence does it, "And he owed it all to a stolen bicycle."

A page turn after that, the reader is taken back to 1954, beginning again at the very beginning, and learning how it happened that a stolen bicycle really did lead to a boxing gym and an early mentor and a dream that became a reality.

This book is a fabulous introduction to an iconic athlete who was also a humanitarian, social activist, and positive role model for those diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.