(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Maya Gonzalez. Brimner (Finding a Way Home, rev. 1/21) narrates the events leading to the first successful school desegregation case, Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. In 1931, Mexican American parents in Lemon Grove, near San Diego, California, organized the Comité de Vecinos de Lemon Grove to resist the creation of the Olive Street School, a subpar school for Mexican American children. Brimner documents the machinations of Lemon Grove's white parents, teachers, and school district board members who, through secret meetings held months earlier, "voted to construct a separate school for children like Roberto and his friends." Gonzalez's double-page acrylic paintings enhance the narrative, particularly in this scene. Five primly dressed figures--the illustration shows them cut off at the shoulders to emphasize their ­impersonality--sit behind a table drafting the paperwork that accuses Mexican children of bad hygiene, of lacking English, and of holding back the white students. Gonzalez renders the Mexican American parents and students of the Comité with round brown faces, a signature of her aesthetic (My Colors, My World; Family Poems for Every Day of the Week, rev. 1/18; and others). An author's note, archival photos, and a bibliography append this work, which would pair well with Christy Hale's All Equal: A Ballad of Lemon Grove (rev. 11/19) and Duncan Tonatiuh's book about a similar case, Separate Is Never Equal: ­Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation (rev. 7/14).

Reviewer: Lettycia Terrones | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) YA Brimner (Twelve Days in May, rev. 1/17) presents another compelling story of civil rights history. Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of African and Native ancestry, loved each other and wanted to get married. But that was against the law in Virginia in the 1960s. Brimner weaves together their personal stories--their courtship, marriage, and family life; their arrest in Virginia, subsequent move to Washington, DC, and move back in defiance of parole--with the larger legacy of prejudice and bigotry in the Jim Crow South. He provides a brief primer on the constitutional challenges their case presented, as it wound its way, slowly but surely, through the federal court system, culminating with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Lovings in 1967. The book is enhanced by black-and-white photographs throughout; candid shots of Richard and Mildred are particularly effective, characterizing the couple's relationship as an especially tender and affectionate one. A final chapter explains how this case set the stage for the marriage equality activism at the turn of the twenty-first century that enabled LGBTQ people to marry whom they wish. Recent books about this case include a picture book, The Case for Loving (rev. 5/15) by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls, and a "documentary novel" in verse, Loving vs. Virginia (rev. 1/17) by Patricia Hruby Powell and Shadra Strickland, so this nonfiction account is a welcome addition. A bibliography, source notes, and index are appended.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(3) YA This detailed and devastating account of the House Un-American Activities Committee and "The Hollywood Ten" explores the HUAC's attack on First Amendment rights. This proved to be a precursor to the rise of McCarthyism in the 1950s, which destroyed the lives of many innocent Americans. Brimner effectively utilizes transcripts from the hearings, archival photos, and secondary sources to document the events. An author's note makes the connection between "then and now." Websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) K-3 Illustrated by John Bendall-Brunello. Little Puppy and bigger Bear become friends and spend the rest of the summer playing together...until Bear doesn't show up one day. But it's just because school has started, and Bear reassures Puppy that they can still play after school. Inconsistent anthropomorphism in the watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations muddies the plot in this tame story of different-age friendship.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(2) 4-6 Brimner's narrative about the 1961 Freedom Ride from Washington, DC, to New Orleans and the civil rights events leading up to it focuses in particular on the violent, turbulent days when the thirteen riders ventured into the Deep South. He recounts the highlights, but the main attraction of this book is its photographs. A striking and spacious book design with black-and-white images provides immediacy. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(2) 4-6 Charles Mallory Hatfield claimed he could coax rain from the sky; in 1915, he promised to fill San Diego's Morena Reservoir. Brimner's well-paced account provides history of pluviculture and the people (mostly shysters) who practiced it. Hatfield considered himself a real scientist, though, and readers are tantalizingly left to contemplate whether he was mostly effective or mostly lucky. Excellent archival photographs appear throughout. Reading list, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(2) YA Brimner's comprehensive history recounts the movement for better wages and working conditions among migrant farm workers in the Southwest, from California's burgeoning need for farm workers in the twentieth century to the story of César Chávez, the United Farm Workers of America, and the Delano grape workers' strike. The compelling narrative includes both textual and visual primary sources. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2014

(3) YA Brimner's well-researched text, centered on Birmingham, Alabama, chronicles the often bloody confrontations between the forces of freedom fighter Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and segregationist Eugene "Bull" Connor. Sidebars include additional historical details (e.g., Emmett Till's murder, McCarthyism). Many well-captioned archival photographs and pull-quotes enhance the presentation. Reading list. Ind.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) 4-6 After introducing the four girls killed in the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, Brimner backtracks to provide historical context on segregation and desegregation in the U.S. The well-researched details--particularly regarding the efforts to bring the bombers to justice--and the numerous black-and-white photographs make this volume a worthwhile addition to civil rights movement collections. Reading list.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Dominic Catalano. Old Armadillo waits cautiously inside his home while trick-or-treaters Roadrunner, Peccary, Coyote, etc., gather outside. Suspense builds as the narration, alternating between the inside and outside action, reveals that Old Armadillo has a scary surprise for his friends. The Southwest setting is captured within the muted pastels and the (wordy) text, sprinkled with Spanish vocabulary. Glos.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) 4-6 Brimner's engaging narrative style gives quietly forceful life to this biography of a man whose heritage nurtured his lifelong participation in nonviolent solutions to social injustice. The telling is sometimes straightforward, sometimes speculative ("The stories made Bayard's heart ache"). Many archival photos, some depicting violence, extend the gravity of the story. Source notes are included.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey. When the littlest wolf pup worries that his rolling isn't straight enough or his running and pouncing don't measure up to that of his siblings, his supportive father reminds him that everything doesn't come at once and that he's well on his way. Satisfied, the little wolf is content to be just who he is now. Playful illustrations keep the tone light in this comforting, well-written story.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) K-3 Rookie Reader series. Illustrated by Susan Miller. "Grab your hat. / It's time to go. / You'll need some boots for the rodeo." In addition to five one-word spreads ("Bounce!" "Bound!" "Throw!"), this rhyming text features one or two easy-to-read sentences per page. Cartoonlike illustrations that show a rodeo contestant in the ring with his spirited horse add to the enjoyment of this adventure, which unfortunately ends abruptly.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(3) K-3 True Book series. These simply written texts provide solid, up-to-date information about current knowledge of the outer planets, acquired mostly from space probes. The captioned color photos are generally well chosen, and the odd nature of the interiors of the gas giants is well described for the intended audience. Lists of organizations and online sites for more information are provided. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Harry Clement Stubbs

(3) K-3 True Book series. These simply written texts provide solid, up-to-date information about current knowledge of the outer planets, acquired mostly from space probes. The captioned color photos are generally well chosen, and the odd nature of the interiors of the gas giants is well described for the intended audience. Lists of organizations and online sites for more information are provided. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Harry Clement Stubbs

(3) K-3 True Book series. These simply written texts provide solid, up-to-date information about current knowledge of the outer planets, acquired mostly from space probes. The captioned color photos are generally well chosen, and the odd nature of the interiors of the gas giants is well described for the intended audience. Lists of organizations and online sites for more information are provided. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Harry Clement Stubbs

(3) K-3 True Book series. These simply written texts provide solid, up-to-date information about current knowledge of the outer planets, acquired mostly from space probes. The captioned color photos are generally well chosen, and the odd nature of the interiors of the gas giants is well described for the intended audience. Lists of organizations and online sites for more information are provided. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Harry Clement Stubbs

(3) K-3 True Book series. These simply written texts provide solid, up-to-date information about current knowledge of the outer planets, acquired mostly from space probes. The captioned color photos are generally well chosen, and the odd nature of the interiors of the gas giants is well described for the intended audience. Lists of organizations and online sites for more information are provided. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Harry Clement Stubbs

(3) K-3 Rookie Reader series. Illustrated by Susan Miller. Though people frown and tell her to "act her age," the narrator's nana takes great pleasure in her unconventional mode of transportation, a hog dressed to the nines. Illustrations filled with amusing details (granny wearing pig earrings, for example) complement the simple rhymed text.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne

(4) K-3 Rookie Reader series. Illustrated by Leo Landry. Childlike artwork--simple black outlines washed with watercolor--depicts the antics of a brother and sister who imagine all the ways that they can play in and around the big tree in front of their new house. The rhyming text is uninventive, and the small trim size is a poor choice for a story about a huge tree, but the illustrations skillfully vary perspective to show a kid's-eye-view of a tree.

Reviewer: Anne St. John