Fighting with Love

Starred review from November 20, 2023
Employing quotations from their book’s subject, married collaborators the Cline-Ransomes chart the life of civil rights activist and politician John Lewis (1940–2020) from his Alabama childhood, in which, before he “was old enough to read the word ‘love’ in his Bible, he could feel it all around him.” Beginning with the family’s “sun-beaten, sweat-soaked, hunchbacked farming” labors, the creators offer a thoroughly contextualized account of the racial segregation Lewis experienced, his work in nonviolent resistance at the Nashville chapter of the NAACP, his involvement with the Freedom Riders, and his famously standing “for everyone who needed someone to stand up for what was right” on Selma, Ala.’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. Via pencil sketched on patterned paper, collage-style visuals contribute dimension to this well-researched love letter to a significant figure who believed that “nonviolence is love in action.” Back matter includes an author’s note and list of quote sources. Ages 4–8.

Starred review from November 1, 2023
Grades 2-6 *Starred Review* This picture-book biography for older readers introduces the late civil rights leader John Lewis, showcasing the experiences that shaped his philosophy and activism, from childhood to early adulthood. Growing up near Troy, Alabama, Lewis lived in a family of sharecroppers, and though he found pleasure in gardening and attending church, Lewis realized early on that not everyone was treated equally, from where they were permitted to eat to where they could go to school. To Lewis, ""Troy was two separate towns. One for white folks, with . . . a library, new schools . . . The other for colored people, with hand-me-down desks, donated school supplies." Hearing Martin Luther King Jr. on the radio as a teenager proves inspiring, and once in college in Nashville, Lewis joins groups challenging segregation and restrictive voting laws. As he witnesses and experiences further inequities and harsh treatment, Lewis remains committed to nonviolent protest and positive change, sustained with faith and motivated by love. Densely detailed, descriptive prose, interspersed with direct quotes, is accompanied and enhanced by vibrant, expressive watercolor and collage illustrations of people, settings, and events. Though the main narrative focuses on the 1940s through the '60s, extensive back matter includes further explanation of the events in the narrative, as well as his later life and achievements as a U.S. congressman and his passing in 2020. An informative, resonating entry point to learn about Lewis and his continuing impact.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 15, 2023
A kid-lit powerhouse team delivers a warm tribute to a civil rights icon known for making good trouble. John Lewis grew up in segregated Troy, Alabama, raised by sharecropper parents who worked hard but had little to show for it. What his family did provide was love in abundance. Lewis' desire for education often took a back seat to the needs of the farm, but he read whatever was available. As a teen, he heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preach on the radio, and he was moved by King's commitment to "truth and justice." While in seminary in Nashville, Tennessee, Lewis connected with others working for justice through nonviolence and prepared to protest segregation. Challenging the status quo was difficult, and the students were attacked verbally and physically, even being arrested for purported disorderly conduct. But he persevered in the face of violence and even threats to his life; the book closes with Lewis leading protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. This eloquent biography makes clear that Lewis' activism was grounded in the love and faith that surrounded him from an early age. Cline-Ransome's clear, age-appropriate language conveys Lewis' determination, while Ransome's compelling illustrations, done with found paper, pencil drawings, and paint, perfectly complement the narrative. The use of vivid, patterned textures gives the book a homey, intimate feeling; Lewis' life and work will feel immediate and deeply personal to readers. An excellent depiction of a life lived with purpose. (author's note, timeline, photographs, quote sources, selected bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from January 19, 2024

Gr 1-3-A deeply informative biography of the great civil rights leader, John Lewis, is added to this team's award-winning bibliography. Careful, lively details will draw readers into Lewis's story, from his years picking cotton near Troy, Alabama, to studying at the seminary, joining the NAACP, peaceful protesting, working with the Freedom Riders, and marching at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a turning point for the Civil Rights Movement. Befitting the man, the text is rich and descriptive with a leveled tone of peace and love. Eye-catching mixed-media illustrations perfectly support the text while evoking an emotional response in a vibrant palette that captures both history in the making and the path of a man and his many deliberate choices. VERDICT A strong biography on John Lewis, this is a highly recommended volume will complement the civil rights shelves as well as collections on Black Americans who worked within and occasionally outside the political establishment but always for the good of the country. -Cassie Veselovsky

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2024
The prolific author-illustrator couple (most recently The Story of the Saxophone, rev. 1/23) teams up again to offer this inspiring picture-book biography of the late human rights and civil rights icon. Cline-Ransome's reverent narrative gracefully captures Lewis's (1940�? 2020) humility and perseverance. Growing up in a farming family in Alabama, young John learned about love from the Bible at an early age. He felt its presence everywhere he went -- except when he encountered the discriminatory realities of Jim Crow laws. "Election day meant Whites Only could pick the laws, mayors, and presidents. John hated that colored folks had to stick to picking cotton." Inspired by a radio sermon delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis left home at seventeen to attend the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. As he learned about practices of nonviolent resistance, his commitment to end segregation through nonviolent protest was unwavering. Beaten and arrested, yet undeterred, he led prolonged sit-ins; rode buses as a Freedom Rider; spoke at the March on Washington calling for jobs and freedom; and led the march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, that ended in state police violence. Ransome's distinctive illustrations, created with a combination of found, printed, and purchased paper with pencil drawings, perfectly match Cline-Ransome's telling and dramatically radiate the magnitude of Lewis's influence. An author's note, a timeline, sources for quotations, and a selected bibliography are appended. Pauletta Brown Bracy

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2024
The prolific author-illustrator couple (most recently The Story of the Saxophone, rev. 1/23) teams up again to offer this inspiring picture-book biography of the late human rights and civil rights icon. Cline-Ransome's reverent narrative gracefully captures Lewis's (1940-2020) humility and perseverance. Growing up in a farming family in Alabama, young John learned about love from the Bible at an early age. He felt its presence everywhere he went -- except when he encountered the discriminatory realities of Jim Crow laws. "Election day meant Whites Only could pick the laws, mayors, and presidents. John hated that colored folks had to stick to picking cotton." Inspired by a radio sermon delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis left home at seventeen to attend the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. As he learned about practices of nonviolent resistance, his commitment to end segregation through nonviolent protest was unwavering. Beaten and arrested, yet undeterred, he led prolonged sit-ins; rode buses as a Freedom Rider; spoke at the March on Washington calling for jobs and freedom; and led the march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, that ended in state police violence. Ransome's distinctive illustrations, created with a combination of found, printed, and purchased paper with pencil drawings, perfectly match Cline-Ransome's telling and dramatically radiate the magnitude of Lewis's influence. An author's note, a timeline, sources for quotations, and a selected bibliography are appended.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)