The Civil Rights Movement by Eric Braun
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on August 1st 2018
ISBN: 1541523318
Pages: 32
Goodreads

The Civil Rights Movement describes historical events in the 1950s and 60s as well as the past ten years. It portrays historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and also more modern events with Black Lives Matter and football players kneeling during the national anthem. The coverage of each event or person is brief to allow younger readers an introduction to the subject matter without overwhelming them.

The reading level is ideal for a beginning reader as the language that is used is very simple. Key vocabulary is highlighted with a reference in the back of the book. This would be great for elementary school students who love history and social studies or an early research project.

Most of the illustrations are photography and each photograph has a simple caption for the reader to connect it back to the main text. The boarder of the pages is a blue and black illustration of protesters which complements the text.

A weakness of the arc of this book is that it feels like information is missing or skipped over with the jump from the 1960s to 2012. There may have been a better way for the writing to transition between time periods.

Reviewed by Kathleen Powers, Winslow Public Library, Winslow, ME