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kristenremenar's review against another edition
4.0
The Civil Rights March of 1963 is made immediate and personal when told in first-person poems. Children and elders, male and female, black and white, all telling how this day of standing for freedom and equality changed them and our country. Powerful - and may inspire students to ask how they can work for justice in meaningful, peaceful ways.
My one grumph with this book is that some of the poems are attributed to a certain character and some have just a title, so I wasn't sure of how many voices this book included, or why some were labeled and others weren't. Still, excellent in a poetry unit, in a Civil Rights unit, and as pleasure reading.
My one grumph with this book is that some of the poems are attributed to a certain character and some have just a title, so I wasn't sure of how many voices this book included, or why some were labeled and others weren't. Still, excellent in a poetry unit, in a Civil Rights unit, and as pleasure reading.
dogtrax's review against another edition
5.0
A powerful collection of poems and narratives, all centered around the gathering in DC that changed the nation
yapha's review against another edition
3.0
The story of The March on Washington on August 28, 1963, told from multiple perspectives through poetry. Grades 6 and up.
alleewalls's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good book, but it was poetry. I am not a fan of poetry.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent book of poems describing what it was like to participate in the March for Voting Rights in Washington, D.C. in 1963, when Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The poems are the first-person accounts of marchers, mostly fictitious characters who are based on many of the people who actually marched; but some poems are also about real historical figures at the march. Poems are shaped poems as well as free verse. Some of the characters are white, some black, and they all give a feeling of the excitement, hopes, and fears of those in attendance: would they be arrested? Would there be a riot? Would their voices be heard? The march's planners worry: how will they get everyone there on time and then to leave on time, too? Will there be violence? Are they prepared? The poems' voices are all ages and socioeconomic classes, from teens to college students to seniors, from many different states; even a six-year-old on her father's shoulders chimes in. One real person at the march, rode a bicycle all the way there from Dayton, Ohio! Another rollerskated there from Chicago! These are small details that I'd never before heard of, but that really made the book come alive for me. Includes appendix that lists the poems by "Historical Voices," "Imagined Voices," by title and by voice, in addition to a standard bibliography. The authors did their research and you really feel like you were there.
quilleranpen's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
scostner's review against another edition
5.0
The authors have researched and collaborated to create an amazing collection of poems that capture the thoughts and feelings of the crowd from the March on Washington. They have included voices of different ages and backgrounds, dreamers, cynics, famous personalities, and average citizens. I have laughed and cried and felt myself transported through time. It almost feels like I could pick the faces of these characters out from a crowd. As the authors point out, many books and accounts tell the facts of that day, but often it is hard to capture the emotions and moods from a famous event. Those emotions are present in these poems - excitement, anxiety, pride, disbelief, hope and other feelings come across clearly as you read each page.
This is an excellent book for individual reading or to use in a classroom setting. The brief biographical notes of famous people mentioned in the book are very helpful, as are the books and websites listed at the end.
For teachers and students I would recommend this book as a part of a unit on the Civil Rights Movement to make participants in the March come alive as individuals.
I read an advance copy supplied by the publisher so that I could offer my honest review.
This is an excellent book for individual reading or to use in a classroom setting. The brief biographical notes of famous people mentioned in the book are very helpful, as are the books and websites listed at the end.
For teachers and students I would recommend this book as a part of a unit on the Civil Rights Movement to make participants in the March come alive as individuals.
I read an advance copy supplied by the publisher so that I could offer my honest review.
wordnerd153's review against another edition
5.0
Thought-provoking and inspiring book written in verse from multiple perspectives. A quick read that will pull readers in and keep them enthralled until the last page. Great way to personalize a key moment in the civil rights movement.
libscote's review against another edition
5.0
This book was quite good. At first I was worried the differing perspectives would be confusing, but instead I found it illuminated the different ways the march would be viewed and the different reasons for attending. It also showed that the march wasn't perfect: I had no idea that they only allowed one woman to speak and that they shunted them off onto a different street before the media arrived. Still, you're struck by how well the whole thing worked. A great title.