Separate is Never Equal Review

 We are moving on to nonfiction/informational text books. 

Book Review #10, Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

1.       Bibliography: Tonatiuh, Duncan. Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and her Family’s Fight for Desegregation.  Harry N. Abrams; 2014. ISBN: 9781419710544.

2.       Plot Summary: This true story tells the sale of Sylvia Mendez and her family, as they fight for Sylvia to have the right to attend a public school, instead of a Mexican school that she was assigned to. The Mexican school was not equal to the public school in many areas, and was a part of segregation. This book is an example of a social history nonfiction book.

3.       Critical Analysis: This picture book tells an important story about a fight for desegregation in history, one that perhaps is little known compared to other more well-known stories, such as the one with Ruby Bridges. In fact, this story takes place well before the very well-known Brown vs. BOE. After the story concludes, the book features an author’s note with more information about Sylvia Mendez and how the story was written, a glossary of terms, a bibliography and an index. These text features help support the accuracy of the text, as it shows the intense research that was conducted in order to write the book. The book is organized chronologically, where the story starts with Sylvia being picked on at school, and then goes into a flashback that starts with her family moving to California, and ending with her family winning their legal battle. It then concludes with the present day Sylvia again, returning to school, and finally making a friend. The text states, “Looking around, she saw that other children were smiling at her. By the end of the day, she had made a friend. And by the end of the school year, she had made many friends of different backgrounds. She knew that her family had fought for that.” The ending shows hope, and reinforces the fact that her family had to fight for her place in the school system. I did find the design and illustrations of the book a little rough, maybe even a caricature style of drawing. With it being a true story, I would have preferred a more realistic style of illustration, or perhaps one that didn’t appear to be a bit silly. The writing style in this book is very clear, and keeps a forward, informational tone. It even includes real quotes from the judge. Page 30 states, “Judge Paul McCormick took almost a year to give his decision…but when he did, he ruled in favor for the Mendez family! In his ruling, he said that ‘public education must be open to all children by unified school association regardless of lineage.’ This meant that everyone must be allowed to attend school, no matter what his or her race or background.” The last sentence of that piece further explains the judge’s decision, so it allows readers to read his actual words, but also with a kid-friendly interpretation. Overall, this story appears to be a well-researched piece about an important historical event, written in a direct and clear way.

4.       Review Excerpts:

·         Jane Addams book list suggestion

·         From School Library Journal, “Younger children will be outraged by the injustice of the Mendez family, but pleased by its successful resolution. Older children will understand the importance of the 1947 ruling that desegregated California schools, paving the way for Brown v Board of Education several years later. ”

·         From The Horn Book, “This story deserves to be more widely known, and now, thanks to this book, it will.”

·         From Kirkus, “Tonatiuh masterfully combines text and folk-inspired art to add an important piece to the mosaic of US Civil Rights History.”

5.       Connections: Display with other civil rights themed informational texts.

·         Coles, Robert. The Story of Ruby Bridges, Scholastic, 2010. ISBN: 9780439472265.

·         Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood up by Sitting Down. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010. ISBN: 9780316070164.

·         Levinson, Cynthia. The Youngest March: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendriks, a Young Civil Rights Activist. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017. ISBN: 9781481400701.

Guide children in a discussion about the book, and how they might go about trying to deal with an unfair situation.

Teach children about Mexico and its culture by sharing Mexico books, video clips, objects, music, and possibly food.

Compare and contrast this story to the story of Ruby Bridges. The librarian can read the above mentioned Ruby Bridges and children can identify similarities and differences.

In in school, make this a part of a Mexican heritage unit. Students can make posters about Sylvia Mendez and other notable people of Mexican culture.