A review by librarianryan
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

 

This book is a fabulous look at Sylvia Mendez and what her family did to fight segregation in California. Most students and kids learn about the court case of Brown versus the Board of Education, which desegregated schools nationwide. Years before that landmark case, the Menendez family did the exact same thing for their local Orange county community. This led to California becoming the first state to have a law against school segregation. The story is told from the point of Sylvia and what she experienced. This book is wonderful, and the artwork is truly unique. When looking at how the students in the book are drawn, it has an Inca or Myan feeling. Particularly with the way, the ears are drawn, but it makes such a statement that the illustrations stand out and pop off the page. This is a fantastic book for any reader and should be in all library collections.