Lerner Publishing Group has been so gracious to allow me to review this book prior to its release date of April 1, 2011! 

Synopsis from Lerner Publishing Group: “On September 4, 1957, nine African American teenagers made their way toward Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They didn’t make it very far. Armed soldiers of the Arkansas National Guard blocked most of them at the edge of campus. The three students who did make it onto campus faced an angry mob. White citizens spit at them and shouted ugly racial slurs. No black students entered Central that day. And if the angry mob had its way, black children would never attend school with white children. But the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1955 that school segregation—that is, separate schools for black children and white children—was unconstitutional. The Court ordered the nation’s schools to be integrated. Nowhere was that process more hateful and more horrific than in Little Rock. Eventually, the nine students did make it into Central High—under the protection of army soldiers. Once inside Central, they faced a never-ending torrent of abuse from white students. But the nine students persevered. Their courage inspired the growing movement for African American civil rights.”

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Wow!  I have never read a textbook that held my interest like this one did!  This book is a real treat, and I can’t wait to get it into my classroom and school library!  It is extremely informative and easy to read, and I learned a lot of new information about the Little Rock Nine and the Civil Rights Movement.  Magoon does a wonderful job compiling her research into easy to understand prose, including real life accounts, pictures, and text box explanations that further define and explain the events of 1957.  My students will greatly benefit from this textbook, as will all young adults.  This short textbook will really help my students understand the difficulties and harassment the Little Rock Nine endured in the name of equality of education.  It will also be a great companion to our research project involving To Kill a Mockingbird, and I am excited to utilize it within the classroom. Five stars!