The Power of One: Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine (Golden Kite Honors) [Hardcover]

Dennis Brindell Fradin (Author), Judith Bloom Fradin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Golden Kite Honors

The life of civil rights leader Daisy Bates is vividly detailed in this stirring new biography by an acclaimed husband-wife team. Throughout her life, Daisy Bates worked tirelessly for civil rights as an activist, journalist, and organizer. She first captured national attention as the mentor of the nine black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock in 1957. During this crisis President Dwight Eisenhower was forced to use federal troops to insure the admission of the students, who became known as the Little Rock Nine. In 1999, just hours after her funeral, President Bill Clinton bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal on the Little Rock Nine, and two years later Daisy Bates was honored by a state holiday in Arkansas.
In this noteworthy companion to their other distinguished biographies of African Americans, Dennis and Judith Fradin have drawn upon a trove of archival material including papers, correspondence, and photographs of her life and work. They also interviewed some of her living relatives and members of the Little Rock Nine. The result is a compelling, inspiring book about the courage and determination of one woman in the face of prejudice and intolerance. Endnotes, bibliography, index.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 6-9–With the aid of archival photographs, meticulous research, and primary-source material, the Fradins have created an outstanding and passionate biography of a civil rights leader who gained prominence as the mentor of the nine African-American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock in 1957. Raised in rural Arkansas by adoptive parents, Bates experienced early on the insults and humiliation associated with segregation. When she learned that her mother had been raped and killed (probably by white men who were never tried for the crime), her father urged her to not hate white people, but to hate the humiliation that African Americans lived with, and to do something about it. She and her husband, L. C. Bates, published the ArkansasState Press, which offered national and local news for African Americans with an emphasis on civil rights matters. The majority of the book focuses on the Little Rock Nine and Bates's tireless fight (in the face of numerous death threats) to help the teens stand up to hate and insults. The authors capture the drama of this fight through interviews from surviving members of the group and newspaper articles from the time. Powerful photos of the federal troops called in by President Eisenhower and of white students jeering at the African Americans help readers to understand the terror of the situation. This compelling biography clearly demonstrates that one person can indeed make a difference.–Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD
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From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. The integration of Little Rock's Central High by nine black teens led one observer to note, "The devil himself could not have been more abhorred by segregationists than Daisy Bates." As president of Arkansas' NAACP during the late 1950s, Bates defied the delaying tactics of the notorious Governor Faubus, demanded protection for the Nine as they braved mobs to attend school, and hosted support sessions to help the trailblazers deal with jeers of "See you later, integrator" and worse. Although the black-and-white design is somewhat prosaic and the cradle-to-grave biographical coverage occasionally seems more comprehensive than necessary, the scrupulously documented storytelling and poignant journalistic photos sharply evoke the experiences of the beleaguered Nine and their mentor, whom supporters dubbed the "Little Rock Joan of Arc." This makes a valuable trio with the husband-and-wife team's other biographies of civil rights activists, Ida B. Wells (2000) and Fight On! Mary Church Terrell's Battle for Integration (2001). Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; New title edition (December 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061831556X
• ISBN-13: 978-0618315567
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #487,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, April 3, 2006

By 

Courtney W. "Courtney W." (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Power of One: Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine (Golden Kite Honors) (Hardcover)

I feel that joint writers Judith Bloom Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin did an excellent job with the writing and pictures exhibited in The Power of One: Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine. It's hard to believe that the demand for integrated schools occurred less than a century ago. The novel depicts civil rights activist Daisy Bates and her quest to integrate the public schools of Arkansas during the late 1950s and early 1960s. She stood behind the nine African American students who our nation dubbed the "Little Rock Nine." The book provides pictures of Daisy's life including eye opening shots of the abuse the nine students as well as Diasy herself endured from Little Rock's public just to gain equal opportunity to education. Readers will become inspired by and appreciative of Daisy's work.