Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/15/2016 As the My Itty-Bitty-Bio series title implies, these books are concise introductions, rather than true biographies. But they do give young children a glimpse into the lives of some well-known names. The two or three sentences of text on each page are in first person, adding a sense of familiarity. Booker T. Washington explains how this eloquent civil rights activist was freed from slavery at age nine and went on to become a respected educator. It’s a bit odd at the end of each book to hear the subjects report their own deaths. The books have incredibly appealing covers that will draw children in, though sometimes the narratives sacrifice factual precision and clarity for simplicity. Still, the volumes’ black-and-white art is brightly framed, and time lines will help younger readers understand when the subjects lived. - Copyright 2016 Booklist.