Discovering History’s Heroes: Ida B. Wells Fighter for Justice by Diane Bailey - ESSENTIAL

Discovering History’s Heroes: Ida B. Wells Fighter for Justice by Diane Bailey, 139 pages. Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), 2019. $18

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL:  AVERAGE

Ida B. Wells showed bravery even in her youth when she returned to her hometown, disastrously infected with Yellow Fever, with the sole purpose of caring for her younger siblings after their parents had died. Ida successfully kept the family together and developed her own career, first as a teacher and later as a journalist and finally as an activist. One of her primary goals was to stop the practice of lynchings.  

This book provided a smooth reading experience - revealing a clear timeline and thematic focus and highlighting any words that a reader might find challenging and providing a glossary. Each unfamiliar word was surrounded by enough context clues that the glossary is really just a backup resource. This is an easy introduction to biography reading. There are some details about lynchings which may be sensitive for some readers.    

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher