Look At Me Reading Non Fiction/Sunday NYT Book Review

I currently have four nonfiction titles on my currently reading goodreads shelf

Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass by Lesa Cline-Ransome illus. by James E. Ransome
Jazz Age Jospehine by Jonah Winter illus. by Margorie Priceman
We've Got a Job by Cynthina Levinson
Abraham Lincoln & Frederick Douglass: the story behind an American Friendship by Russell Freedman
Panther Baby by Jamal Joesph

I usually read fiction, so four NF titles at one time is a lot for me. I've acutally finished all of them though I won't move to read column until I've reviewed them. I go back and forth about how I feel about Black History Month, but like it or not it gets me every year. And I am cool with being pushed out of my comfort zone if it means reading more engaging books like the ones mentioned above.

Words Set Free and We've Got A Job are two books mentioned in this weeks Sunday New York Times about books for Black History Month

Spies of Mississippi Rick Bowers

Spies of Mississippi by Rick Bowers
This is the true story of the spy network that tried to destroy the Civil Rights Movements.
In 1956 newly elected Mississippi Governor J.P. Coleman pass a bill called Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission. This bill allowed the state of Mississippi to spy on people so segregation could continue throughout the state.

I was excited to get my hands on this book, it sounded interesting. Unfortunately I was underwhelmed. History isn't one of my strength but still I was left wanting.

Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. Many believed Till's murder help bring about the civil rights movement, yet Bowers didn't mention it. It would've made sense to include since many White Mississippians who were determined to keep the state segregated were threatened by the national attention. This fear was probably one of the main reasons behind the spying bill.

The chapters are very short, many facts felt underdeveloped. In chapter four Pipeline, Bowers discusses men White and Black who went undercover to infiltrate NAACP meetings. Bowers mentions two of the Black informants are found out. Though he doesn't go into any detail. I would love to know what Black men and women fighting for equality would do to someone of their own race who betrayed them.

Chapter nine Never Never Land, is about how segregation was allowed to thrive in Mississippi. The chapter ends with Bowers mentioning Dick Gregory.

"Black comedian Dick Gregory, who gained celebrity statue entertaining white and black nightclub audiences and appearing on national TV, charged that the military veteran, college student, and chicken farmer had been framed, railroaded into prison, abused, neglected, and left for dead."

The first two words I associate with Dick Gregory are comedian, activists. Bowers neglected to say Dick Gregory was a Civil Rights activists, without that fact it makes no sense to quote him. I would've even been okay with "Black social conscious comedian Dick Gregory" just something so readers unfamiliar with Dick Gregory will know why his words held weight.

The chapter on Medgar Evers is eight pages and that includes both acquittals of his killer. I didn't get a good sense of who Medger Evers and what he meant to the Civil Rights movements.

From the beginning, Bowers is quick to move on to a new fact and I was left wondering about what wasn't mentioned.

Read an excerpt

I've linked this post to Nonfiction Monday. This weeks nonfiction round up can be found at Wrapped in Foil

Oceans Johnna Rizzo

Oceans by Johnna Rizzo

The beautiful cover of this book grabbed me. The photographs inside are just as amazing. This is a National Georgaphic Kids nonfiction title, so I expected the images to be great and I was still wowed

As far as I know this is Rizzo's first nonfiction book for kids. Though, Rizzo writes like he's done this before.

Various fonts and text are used to keep the readers attention. Filled with facts, including weird but true ones. After naming the oceans of the world, the author begins with Whales.

Rizzo highlights the differences between sea animals with close relations. Such as the sea horse vs Sea Dragon and squid vs octopus. Readers are introduced to a few of the animals that live at the oceans bottom.

Pitch-black and just a few degrees above freezing, the ocean bottom is a harsh place to live, and the fish that survive in these extreme conditions have developed some strange adaptations. Most of these deep sea residents are bioluminescent, which means chemicals inside their often see through bodies glow like underwater night lights.

Two cool facts I learned from Oceans. There are jellyfish that can weigh up to 450 pounds.

Blue Whale babies can weigh up to 6,000 pounds when they are born.

The text and photographs compliment each other very well. Young readers who enjoy factual books will love Oceans. I've linked this post to nonfiction Monday. This weeks nonfiction roundup can be found at Shelf-employed.