School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-As Assistant Secretary of the Interior under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Oscar Chapman played a vital role in securing Marian Anderson's use of the Lincoln Memorial as a venue for her free concert in 1939. Hopkinson ties incidents from Chapman's childhood to his efforts on Anderson's behalf, establishing that he never shied away from controversy. His refusal to testify against two African-American friends unfairly accused of stealing demonstrates a long history of opposing injustice. This sets the stage for the adult Chapman's willingness to find the perfect location for Anderson's performance and his work for FDR's approval. He also ensured that every V.I.P. in Washington was personally invited to attend. Of course, the event was a blazing success and remains a touchstone of the Civil Rights Movement. Hopkinson's slant on Chapman's contributions provides food for thought. The mixed-media illustrations succeed best when the action shifts to Washington where Jenkins can rely on the historical record in composing his work. The earlier scenes are confusingly jumbled. An endnote lists some of the author's sources, but none of the quotes in the text are specifically cited. Still, the book could provoke meaningful discussion about character formation and civic responsibility.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hopkinson's (Sky Boys) accessible, conversational narrative relays the little-known story of Oscar Chapman who, as a white boy in racially charged post-Civil War Virginia, was asked by his teacher to select a picture to decorate the bare walls of his two-room schoolhouse. In a junk shop, Oscar chooses a picture of Abraham Lincoln, not realizing that this is a portrait of the recent controversial president. The boy is expelled temporarily for his selection, and realizes that he "had seen injustice all around him. And now he was being treated unfairly too." After a member of the school board removes Lincoln's picture from the wall, the plucky lad climbs through the schoolhouse window and re-hangs it. He knew he "was stirring things up, just like Mr. Lincoln. But maybe that was the only way to get things to change." The story then fast forwards to 1939, when Chapman is serving as assistant secretary of the interior under Franklin Roosevelt. He and his friend, NAACP head Walter White, start "stirring up trouble" after they learn that Marian Anderson has been barred from singing in Constitution Hall because of her race. They obtain Roosevelt's permission for the celebrated soloist to perform on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where 75,000 people show up to hear her sing "America" (My Country 'Tis of Thee). Featuring bright swirling pastel patterns against deep blues and browns, Jenkins's (Langston's Train Ride) collage-like mixed-media illustrations deftly dramatize this illuminating and inspirational behind-the-scenes look at a triumphant moment in the civil rights movement. Ages 6-10. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
FDR's assistant secretary of the interior, Oscar Chapman, was instrumental in organizing Marian Anderson's 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert. This picture book biography fills in Chapman's civil rights background (e.g., his childhood attempts to hang a picture of Abraham Lincoln in his racist Virginia school). Jenkins's expansive mural-like paintings are impressive in themselves but tend to overwhelm the slight--in comparison--text. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Hopkinson shines the spotlight on Oscar Chapman, assistant secretary of the interior, who worked behind the scenes to make Marian Anderson's concert at the Lincoln Memorial a reality. Hopkinson begins her tale with an anecdote from Chapman's youth in rural Virginia: Asked by his teacher to buy a picture to decorate the school, he chooses a picture of Abraham Lincoln and is expelled by the bigoted school board. The narrative fast-forwards to 1939, giving the background behind the Daughters of the American Revolution's refusal to let Anderson sing at Constitution Hall and revealing the tremendous organizing effort Chapman undertook not only to make the concert happen, but to make it a turning point in American history. Jenkins's mixed-media illustrations are freighted with emotion, unnatural colors and skewed angles underlining the tumult of feelings surrounding the events, scribbles of colored chalk making the connection between Chapman the impassioned schoolboy and Chapman the righteous man. An author's note provides details, although the presumably invented dialogue goes unsourced. Still, it brings deserved attention to Chapman and underscores the very worthwhile message that one does not need to be a star to make a difference. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Growing up poor and white in Virginia at the turn of the twentieth century, Oscar Chapman watched as his black friends became victims of racism. He grew up to become an important government official in Washington, D.C., and, with his friend Walter White, a light-skinned African American, he lobbied the powerful to challenge the racist Daughters of the American Revolution and allow Marian Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial, where 75,000 people came to hear her, and where, 24 years later, Martin Luther King Jr. made his most famous speech. Jenkins' powerful, bright, mixed-media collages show and tell the connections, past, present, and future, as the politician remembers his childhood experiences and his works for civil rights. A final spread celebrates King, Anderson, and a circle of children together. A long author's note fills in the political history, including the role of Eleanor Roosevelt. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2007 Booklist
