From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up—Fifty years after the Freedom Summer murders, this meticulously researched, compellingly told account covers an incredible moment in history. Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney were three young civil rights workers who decided to work for the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) to confront bigotry in Mississippi and register African Americans to vote. They left for Meridian, accompanied by student volunteers from across the United States, (where only 6.4 percent of eligible African American voters were registered.) Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney were killed by Klansmen after being arrested. Their deaths deepened the conviction of the others and served to engender incredible strides in the forward momentum of the civil rights movement. This work gives a real sense of the time and place, the issues and the opposing sides, and the impact on the nation. Including myriad period photos and drawings, facsimiles of reports and records, meticulous source notes, an extensive bibliography, picture credits, and an extensive index, this title is the epitome of excellent historical reporting, with the human element never forgotten.—Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
*Starred Review* This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the watershed summer of 1964, when civil rights workers flooded into some of the most socially oppressive areas of Mississippi. These student volunteers opened schools, registered voters, and promoted positive reform. Set against the backdrop of the puzzling disappearance of three of these young volunteers (known by the FBI case file as “Mississippi Burning”), Rubin’s crackling narrative chronicles the work of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee amid threats by the Ku Klux Klan. It’s no surprise, coming from Rubin, that this reads like suspenseful—and almost unbelievable—fiction, filled with courageous characters, shocking turns of events, and potent emotion. Fascinating and copious details are drawn from the author’s personal interviews with key figures, oral histories, and primary documents, all meticulously sourced in the back matter. Design is the sole weak spot: nonglossy pages and spreads of unadorned text are not especially welcoming. The photographs themselves, though, are well chosen, as are the reproductions of leaflets, reports, and papers, all of which bring vivid life to the events and speak to the human aspects of history. An educator’s guide available on the publisher’s website offers countless more leads for deeper research and lesson-plan inspiration. This well-researched and heartfelt work covers every angle, thereby honoring the brave inroads made by activists a half century ago. Grades 5-8. --Erin Anderson
Review
* "This meticulously researched, compellingly told account covers an incredible moment in history...This title is the epitome of excellent historical reporting with the human element never forgotten." —School Library Journal, Starred Review
* "This reads like suspenseful—and almost unbelievable—fiction, filled with courageous characters, shocking turns of events, and potent emotion..." —Booklist, Starred Review
About the Author
Susan Goldman Rubin is the award-winning author of Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the Children of Terezin,which was a Sydney Taylor Award Honor Book, a SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Book, and a Booklist Top Ten Art Book for Youth. Her other books include a collaboration with Ela Weissberger, The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin, and ALA Notable Children's Book. She lives in Malibu, California.
