Image: Macmillan
Happy Friday! I have enjoyed the first week of summer break, taking it easy with lots of Boo time and garden time. Sorry that I'm posting Fact Friday is a bit late today. It features Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy and illustrated by Janell Washington. This picture book biography of Mamie Till Mobley opens in August of 1955. Mrs. Till has just been informed of the death of her only son Emmett in Mississippi, hundreds of miles away from her Chicago home. The double-page spread depicts the silhouettes of two men standing near a river. The page turn introduces Mamie as a young child, a "child of the great migration." Spare, lyrical prose provide readers with an understanding of this woman who was remarkable for her time and the unconditional love she showered on her equally remarkable son, Emmett.
She insisted that her son's body be returned to her in Chicago. It arrived locked and with instructions barring the casket from being opened. She defied the instructions and held an open casket wake to show the world what happened to her son, thereby sparking the civil rights movement.
The cut paper collage art is primarily black, tan and white with pops of red and blue. Little details, such as the red ribbon heart connecting mother and son as she sent him off on his fateful train ride are especially powerful. Plentiful back matter includes a note from both the author and illustrator, a soundtrack, glossary, time line and sources.
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