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Summary
Summary
Winner of the Nautilus Book Award
Winner of the 2021 FOCAL Award
Silver Award Winner, 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards
Winner of the Book Award for Young People's Literature, 2020 Maine Literary Awards
A Great Kid Books Best New Book
Building on the brilliance of Fred Korematsu Speaks Up , the newest installment in the Fighting for Justice series introduces young readers to another real-life champion for civil rights: Bridget "Biddy" Mason, an African American philanthropist, healer, and midwife who was born into slavery.
When Biddy Mason arrived in California, where slavery was technically illegal, she was kept captive by her owners and forced to work without pay. But when Biddy learned that she was going to be taken to a slave state, she launched a plan to win her freedom. She refused to be defined by her enslavement, and coauthors Arisa White and Laura Atkins devote much of their narrative to Biddy Mason's later life as a business and civic leader in the fledgling city of Los Angeles. Biddy Mason Speaks Up is an age-appropriate yet unflinching examination of slavery, racism, and community healing in the United States. Each chapter begins with lyrical verse and full-color illustrations that draw readers into the narrative, and is followed by visually engaging sections filled with keyword definitions, historical context, timelines, and primary sources. Throughout the book, the authors pose questions to the reader, such as "How do you see power at work in your community?", making Biddy Mason's story all the more relatable to the present day.
Author Notes
Arisa White is a Cave Canem graduate poet and her work has been nominated for the NAACP Image Awards, California Book Awards, and Wheatley Book Awards. Her recent poetry collection You're the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened was a nominee for the 29th Lambda Literary Awards. As the creator of the Beautiful Things Project, Arisa curates cultural events and artistic collaborations that center narratives of queer and trans people of color. She served on the board of directors for Nomadic Press and is an assistant professor at Colby College. Visit her website at arisawhite.com.
Laura Atkins is an author, teacher, and independent children's book editor with over twenty years of editorial experience. She worked at Children's Book Press, Orchard Books, and Lee and Low Books, helping to produce winners of the Coretta Scott King Award and American Library Association Notable Book selections, among others. She taught creative writing at the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature (NCRCL) in London, where she also received her M.A. in children's literature, and she completed her M.F.A. in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2016. In addition to cowriting Fred Korematsu Speaks Up , Laura is the author of the lighthearted picture book Sled Dog Dachshund (Minted Prose Press). Passionate about diversity and equity in children's books, Laura is based in Berkeley, California, where she lives with her daughter. Find out more at lauraatkins.com.
Laura Freeman is a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honoree. Her work on Hidden Figures written by Margot Lee Shetterly, was recognized with an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children, reached the New York Times Best Seller list and was listed as one of "Ten Books All Georgians Should Read". Her art has been honored at the Society of Illustrators in NYC and in the Annuals for Communication Arts and American Illustration. She has illustrated over thirty children's books. In addition to illustrating books, Laura's art can be found on a wide range of products, from dishes and textiles to greeting cards. And her editorial images are frequently seen in the NY Times and other periodicals. She is a native New Yorker residing in Atlanta with her husband, two sons, two cats and a fish. Visit her website, lfreemanart.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-White and Atkins detail the life of Bridget "Biddy" Mason, a successful nurse and businesswoman who secured freedom for her and her children through legal action, and use her story as a lens through which to examine the experiences of enslaved people in the United States and the history of slavery as an institution. Each chapter begins in verse accompanied by bright illustrations, describing imagined scenes from Mason's life. (The introduction states that the authors "imagin[ed] Biddy Mason's life based on all the information and stories we could gather." The detailed source notes, located in the back matter, indicate where the information was drawn from.) This is followed by factual investigations into key historical moments and daily life throughout the time period. These thoughtfully written sections are well arranged with clear headings, definitions for important terms in the text and in sidebars, captioned historical images, questions for discussion, and time lines. An extensive amount of back matter makes this an enormously useful resource for students. A section at the end titled "Healing Your Community: From Biddy's Day to Ours" encourages readers to think about injustice in their own communities, and how they might speak up themselves. Readers and those recommending this book should note that the book includes a description of rape and discussion of sexual abuses suffered by enslaved people. VERDICT A first purchase for biography, history, and general nonfiction collections alike.-Darla Salva Cruz, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Enslaved midwife and herbalist Biddy Mason was brought to California in 1851 by her masters; she later sued for her freedom, bought land, and became a community leader. Illustrated free-verse poems (with some fictionalized elements) alternate with factual chapters documenting Mason's life, historical context, and the early Los Angeles African American community. Stylized illustrations accompany the verse; archival images appear throughout. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The true story of an enslaved woman finding freedom and creating a home and community. This book is "a creative act of repairing the historical record, of imagining Biddy Mason's life based on all the information and stories we could gather," explain the co-authors in a preface. Scenes are written in free verse. Each poem is followed by information about Biddy's world: slavery and midwifery, plantation life and economy, migration, the struggle for freedom, and life as a free black person. Born into slavery and separated from her mother, Biddy learns about healing plants from the woman who takes her in. She is later sold away and forced to migrate across the country. In Utah and then in California, where slavery is illegal, Biddy encounters Native people and free blacks. Instead of following her master to Texas, where slavery is legal, Biddy manages to resist in court and gain her freedom. Her story doesn't end there. Her later life as a healer, homesteader, and community builder fills the last third of the book, ending on a note of hope. Poems are illustrated, and nonfiction sections include archival photographs, vocabulary words, timelines, and questions encouraging readers to reflect on their own lives. The cruelty of slavery, including brutal whippings and rape, is presented in the scenes and explained in the notes. Difficult but necessary, inclusive and respectful, this book does a beautiful job of telling truths about our history and how we construct it. (source notes, bibliography, index) (Blended nonfiction/historical fiction. 9-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Born into slavery, Biddy Mason learned midwifery and the healing powers of herbal medicines. When her Mississippi plantation owners, the Smiths, converted to Mormonism, they took Biddy and her children with them to Utah and eventually to California, a free state. Years later, after learning that the Smiths were planning to take Biddy and her children to Texas and back into slavery, her African American community came to her rescue. This entry in the Fighting for Justice series uses a multimodal approach to recount Biddy's life story, including speaking up and winning her freedom and becoming an influential Los Angeles land owner and philanthropist. Episodic chapters in verse are followed by nonfiction text that chunks information on Biddy, slavery, and related historical places and events. Together, they feature colorful depictions of Biddy's life, reproductions, period photographs, glossary words, time lines, and social justice question prompts. Photos and descriptions of healing herbs also tie the chapters together. A final section considers modern social justice issues related to Biddy's causes. The nontraditional format makes this an appealing biography.--Angela Leeper Copyright 2019 Booklist
