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Little Rock Nine
There are moments in every country's history when decisions are made and actions are taken that will change the course of that country's future. Turning Points historical graphic novels bring these moments in American history to life.
Sixteen-year-old William McNally and fifteen-year-old Thomas Johnson both live in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the summer of 1957. They both love baseball and teasing their little sisters. There's just one big difference -- William is white, and Thomas, the son of William's family's maid, is black. After the Supreme Court rules in favor of desegregating public schools, Little Rock Central High School prepares to enroll its first nine African-American students, and William and Thomas are caught in the center of a storm.
Sixteen-year-old William McNally and fifteen-year-old Thomas Johnson both live in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the summer of 1957. They both love baseball and teasing their little sisters. There's just one big difference -- William is white, and Thomas, the son of William's family's maid, is black. After the Supreme Court rules in favor of desegregating public schools, Little Rock Central High School prepares to enroll its first nine African-American students, and William and Thomas are caught in the center of a storm.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Marshall T. Poe
30 books12 followersMarshall Tillbrook Poe (born December 29, 1961) is an American historian, writer, editor and founder of the New Books Network, an online collection of podcast interviews with a wide range of non-fiction authors. He has taught Russian, European, Eurasian and World history at various universities including Harvard, Columbia, University of Iowa, and, currently, the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has also taught courses on new media and online collaboration.
Poe is the author or editor of a number of books on early modern Russia. He has also published A History of Communications: Media and Society from the Evolution of Speech to the Internet, a book that examines how various communications media shape social practices and values.
In 2005, Poe founded the now-defunct MemoryArchive, a universal wiki-type archive of contemporary memoirs. It encouraged people to contribute written accounts of their personal memories that would be part of a searchable, online database. There he contributed numerous personal accounts of his own, from playing basketball with Barack Obama, to stumbling onto a crime scene of Dennis Rader's, the BTK serial killer.
In 2006, Poe wrote an influential commentary on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, while serving as a writer, researcher and editor at The Atlantic magazine.
Poe is the author or editor of a number of books on early modern Russia. He has also published A History of Communications: Media and Society from the Evolution of Speech to the Internet, a book that examines how various communications media shape social practices and values.
In 2005, Poe founded the now-defunct MemoryArchive, a universal wiki-type archive of contemporary memoirs. It encouraged people to contribute written accounts of their personal memories that would be part of a searchable, online database. There he contributed numerous personal accounts of his own, from playing basketball with Barack Obama, to stumbling onto a crime scene of Dennis Rader's, the BTK serial killer.
In 2006, Poe wrote an influential commentary on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, while serving as a writer, researcher and editor at The Atlantic magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 19 reviews
November 2, 2009
Well, it's not going to garner much attention at Comic Con, and it's certainly not "Maus," but this title, and the other Turning Points titles, do serve a purpose: they chronicle an important event in American history in a way that will engage middle to high schoolers who won't pay much attention to their textbooks or history classes. If I were a teacher or school librarian, 6th to 12th grade, I would definitely have this on my shelves.
Everything is pretty straightforward here, sometimes a little too much so. This title would benefit from a little more attitude. All the same, it manages to get across a lot of the complexity of segregation, from a governor who takes a stand (ostensibly) on the rights of the state to a African American father who doesn't want his son to segregate, because he doesn't want to put his family in harm's way.
Ideally, a series like this would whet the appetite of teenagers, compelling them to pick up and read meatier material on the subject. I'm not sure "Little Rock Nine" succeeds on that front; it lacks the kind of kick that sparks the imagination and leaves readers wanting more. Still, I suppose some knowledge of American history, however surface it may be, is better than complete ignorance.
Everything is pretty straightforward here, sometimes a little too much so. This title would benefit from a little more attitude. All the same, it manages to get across a lot of the complexity of segregation, from a governor who takes a stand (ostensibly) on the rights of the state to a African American father who doesn't want his son to segregate, because he doesn't want to put his family in harm's way.
Ideally, a series like this would whet the appetite of teenagers, compelling them to pick up and read meatier material on the subject. I'm not sure "Little Rock Nine" succeeds on that front; it lacks the kind of kick that sparks the imagination and leaves readers wanting more. Still, I suppose some knowledge of American history, however surface it may be, is better than complete ignorance.
Read
February 24, 2022ummm. the story could’ve been portrayed a little bit better. this graphic novel only touched a 1/4 of the Little Rock Nine story and didn’t really mention the 9 students until the second to last page.
August 29, 2008
My Amazon review: Following a graphic novel format, Little Rock Nine personalizes the story of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in September 1957. The story is very basic and covers only about two weeks time in the struggle but gives a good summation of the political climate and the emotions involved.
Although mainly seen from the point of view of white participants, the book gives an interesting point of view from the black perspective - one of the integrators fathers does not want his son to integrate and is against the idea - but mostly out of fear.
The illustrations are in black and white and are pretty basic focusing mostly on body language and facial expressions of the characters to give an authentic feel for what a struggle this monumental event was.
I would be interested to see more of the TurningPoints series - if they are all as good as this one they would be wonderful classroom tools for readers who have difficulty with "standard" format books. Although the account here is fictionalized a bit, the student would get the basic idea in a very memorable format. This is the type of book that sparks a young reader's interest and launches him or her into additional reading and/or research.
A bit of color to the illustrations would pep things up a bit but overall the book is attractive and I could easily see this being picked up by any 8-12 year old looking for something to read.
Although mainly seen from the point of view of white participants, the book gives an interesting point of view from the black perspective - one of the integrators fathers does not want his son to integrate and is against the idea - but mostly out of fear.
The illustrations are in black and white and are pretty basic focusing mostly on body language and facial expressions of the characters to give an authentic feel for what a struggle this monumental event was.
I would be interested to see more of the TurningPoints series - if they are all as good as this one they would be wonderful classroom tools for readers who have difficulty with "standard" format books. Although the account here is fictionalized a bit, the student would get the basic idea in a very memorable format. This is the type of book that sparks a young reader's interest and launches him or her into additional reading and/or research.
A bit of color to the illustrations would pep things up a bit but overall the book is attractive and I could easily see this being picked up by any 8-12 year old looking for something to read.
January 16, 2016
My love of reading started when i was young, and it gives me immense pleasure to provide books to Spread the Word Nevada, an organization that passes them on to children in the community. They are a terrific organization supporting an important cause. If your local I encourage you to check them out. For those living further a field, look in your own community, their may already be a similar program in place. And if not, you can always help start one.
http://spreadthewordnevada.org/
Myself, I go out on the weekends and
shop thrift store and bulk book lots to rescue books and donate them. Sometimes I'll find a book I remember reading when I was young and will read it again before passing it on.
November 1, 2008
I'm not all that familiar with graphic novels, but I have to say I was disappointed in this attempt to take the historical events of the Central High desegregation and put them into graphic novel/comic form. Memoirs by Daisy Bates and others are far more compelling and action packed. The graphic novel gets off to a very slow start and doesn't capture the fear and loathing that was involved on both sides.
November 6, 2016
Little Rock Nine is a graphic novel set in 1957 that uses fictional characters to relay the true story of the first nine students to successfully integrate an all-white public high school in Arkansas. It presents the perspectives of those who were for and against integration, along with their reasoning.
I enjoyed the graphics of Little Rock Nine. The imagery went along with the story very well. It was a great way to bring out the facts of the past and how far we have come as a nation. This book is great for children, but it can also serve as a fun quick read.
I enjoyed the graphics of Little Rock Nine. The imagery went along with the story very well. It was a great way to bring out the facts of the past and how far we have come as a nation. This book is great for children, but it can also serve as a fun quick read.
November 13, 2010
The story of integrating Little Rock High School is done in the format of a graphic novel. This format allows the author to present different view points and opinions of the individuals involved in the fight to integrate the high school. He also sets up the main characters as two boys, one white, one black, that have each other's backs. The author is making the point, that change needs to happen, and individuals one to one can make a difference.
December 13, 2010
i was angered by this book. more than a little. i know! let's tell the story of the Little Rock Nine from a white boy's perspective and make him the hero! great idea. as well as a questionable plot and several key points of the civil rights struggle missing, the art is also damn awful. please tell the story of the Little Rock Nine. please do it better than this book.
November 30, 2010
Great graphic novel about segregation. Great pictures and storyline. I think older kids would enjoy this book because the could look deeper in to the text and make meaning of the events that are happening.
October 26, 2016
It is so crazy how mean those people were. They reminded me of some of the crazy political crowds right now only worse. It is so crazy that this actually happened. I didn't know if all the characters were real or not. Review by B, age 12.
November 1, 2014
Illustrations are great, but I thought most of the characters were a little too one-sided/stock characters. 3+ uses of the n- word, so be sure to discuss before giving to kids.
December 17, 2014
An important historical event well told. Not crazy about the art. Don't understand why it didn't circ. maybe because it's not as well-known?
October 2, 2016
The attempt to bring the story of integrating Little Rock High in 1957 alive doesn't quite come off here - neither the story nor the artwork were particularly good.
December 20, 2024
This is such a good book to teach young(er) readers about a *turning point* in history, more specifically in the history of race and civil rights. The drawings are utterly flawless, and tell the story really clearly and comprehensively in conjunction with the writing. Additionally, the organization in each section of the book captured emotion, tension, chaos, and hope so, so, amazingly. It's hard to express how impressive everything was about this book.
The one thing I will say is that I wasn't anticipating seeing the n-word spelled out in this book. While it's not something that should necessarily be censored out (because it shows the attitude at the time and helps teach readers that it's bad), I think that it would be nice to include a very straightforward and non-alarming warning at the beginning of the book, just so that readers are aware of it.
All around, though, this is a very important book!
The one thing I will say is that I wasn't anticipating seeing the n-word spelled out in this book. While it's not something that should necessarily be censored out (because it shows the attitude at the time and helps teach readers that it's bad), I think that it would be nice to include a very straightforward and non-alarming warning at the beginning of the book, just so that readers are aware of it.
All around, though, this is a very important book!
July 15, 2025
Another title on a banned list in the state of Florida. This book is okay. It misses the mark for a historical fiction comic for me. I would say it’s best placed in a middle or high school setting as an introduction of the events at Central High. The book mentions the nine students at the end which would lend the reader to research more, if interested.
January 9, 2020
I think that it is a really interesting book because it is about arkansas history and was just really makes you think what's gonna happen next so it makes you want to read more and more.
February 16, 2017
This graphic novel is a great way to introduce kids to history - however, I'd put a disclaimer on what age group this is appropriate for due to racial slurs and messages of hate and killing, so I'd put this as more appropriate for middle school and higher.
April 8, 2019
Graphic novel that portrays various people's experiences and opinions regarding the integration of Little Rock Central. A very good overview of the situation probably best suited to middle schoolers.
It should be noted that the book does contain the "n-word."
It should be noted that the book does contain the "n-word."
Displaying 1 - 18 of 19 reviews