When the Schools Shut Down

A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's "Lost Generation" and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision

by Yolanda Gladden, Dr. Tamara Pizzoli

On Sale: 01/11/2022

When the Schools Shut Down

A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's "Lost Generation" and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision

by Yolanda Gladden, Dr. Tamara Pizzoli

illustrated by Keisha Morris

On Sale: 01/11/2022

Format:

About the Book

A 2023 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist

An awe-inspiring autobiographical picture book about a young African American girl who lived during the shutdown of public schools in Farmville, Virginia, following the landmark civil rights case Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. 

Most people think that the Brown vs. Board of Education decision of 1954 meant that schools were integrated with deliberate speed. But the children of Prince Edward County located in Farmville, Virginia, who were prohibited from attending formal schools for five years knew differently, including Yolanda.

Told by Yolanda Gladden herself, cowritten by Dr. Tamara Pizzoli and with illustrations by Keisha Morris, When the Schools Shut Down is a true account of the unconstitutional effort by white lawmakers of this small Virginia town to circumvent racial justice by denying an entire generation of children an education.

Most importantly, it is a story of how one community triumphed together, despite the shutdown.

Critical Praise

[A]n engaging, community care–centered examination of segregation in the Virginia school system before and after Brown v. Board of Education. — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A celebration of a community stepping up to educate its children, and a message that learning takes place in many venues other than schools. — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Spotlighting an often-overlooked aspect of civil rights history…[An] attractive, informative picture book on school desegregation. — Booklist

Edifying. — Kirkus Reviews

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Product Details

  • ISBN: 9780063011168
  • ISBN 10: 0063011166
  • Imprint: HarperCollins
  • On Sale: 01/11/2022
  • Pages: 40
  • List Price:23.99 CAD
  • Ages: 4 to 8
  • BISAC1 : JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / United States / State & Local
  • BISAC2 : JUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiography / Social Activists
  • BISAC3 : JUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiography / Women
  • BISAC4 : JUVENILE NONFICTION / People & Places / United States / African American
  • BISAC5 : JUVENILE NONFICTION / School & Education
  • BISAC6 : JUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiography / Historical
  • BISAC7 : JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / United States / 20th Century

When the Schools Shut Down by Yolanda Gladden, Dr. Tamara Pizzoli

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