We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March 

by Cynthia Levinson

Bibliographic Information:

Levinson, C. (2015). We’ve got a job: The 1963 birmingham children’s march. Atlanta, GA:

Peachtree Publishers. ISBN 9781561458448

Summary:

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March follows the stories of four youth during the May 1963 protests held in Birmingham, AL. Meet Audrey Faye Hendricks, Washington Booker III, James W. Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter as they travel this tough journey and encounter punitive protests, strict segregation, audacious arrests, and promising people of the time, including Martin Luther King, Jr. Their stories are ones you won’t forget.

Critical Analysis:

Cynthia Levinson’s immediate lack of color and focus on black and white illustrations make the reader’s initial contact with this book powerful and engaging. Within the 180 pages, photographs dominate some page layouts, while other page layouts are dominated by text. This makes this book unique in that although it may initially appear as a children’s picture book, it certainly is not given the subject matter and amount of in depth text. In this case, this nonfiction piece demands both text and illustrations through photographs in order to accurately show and tell this historical event. They both add credibility.

Levinson’s lack of color also helps appeal to the historical accuracy of this informational text. The organization of the book is in timeline format following the stories of four children directly affected by the 1963 Children’s March. It is evident that much research and time was put into planning and creating this nonfiction work. When considering the elements that make an excellent nonfiction work, Levinson’s book completes them all. Levinson’s work is engaging and accurate in both illustrations and language, appropriately organized (chronologically) and documented, clear in presentation, contains specific supportive structures  (an index, abbreviation guide, maps, and factual sidebars), and interests young readers. This work is a beautiful example of the possibilities of nonfiction for our young adult readers. It is no wonder that We’ve Got a Job was a finalist for the 2013 Orbis Pictus Honor Books.

Creative Activity:

Conscientious Consideration

Imagine if you were Audrey Faye Hendricks, Washington Booker III, James W. Stewart, or Arnetta Streeter living in today’s society. How would you/they view the current race relations in the United States? Consider several important recent events including those of the five deaths of the Dallas police officers, the events in Ferguson, MO, and the case of Trayvon Martin in Florida. Have our race relations changed in the United States since 1963? Why or why not? What can we learn from these resilient, courageous youth of 1963?

Graffiti Wall

As you encounter important details and thought provoking pieces in We’ve Got a Job, post your ideas on the graffiti wall. You may wish to add additional information regarding the historical happenings in the 1960s and the influential leaders. This wall is meant to be a reflection of your learning and knowledge on the topic. Be creative… think graffiti!

Related Resources:

Courage Has No Color:

The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers

by Tanya Lee Stone

Stone, T.L. (2013). Courage has no color: The true story of the triple nickles, america’s first

black paratroopers. New York, NY: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763665487

-       Another beautiful black and white nonfiction piece that demonstrates the breakdown of America’s segregated society and celebrates the courage of the oppressed. Readers who enjoyed We’ve Got a Job, will also enjoy the history of America’s first black paratroopers who fought in World War II against the Japanese.   

The Watsons Go To Birmingham

by Christopher Paul Curtis

Curtis, C. P. (2013). The watsons go to birmingham. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 9780385382946

-       A fictional account of what it was like to be a young African American child during 1963 America. This proves to be a good connection to We’ve Got a Job and can allow a reader to act as a detective to uncover whether the trials and tribulations the Watson’s encountered are factual for the time.

“How the Children of Birmingham Changed the Civil-Rights Movement” by Lottie Joiner

Joiner, L. (2013). How the children of birmingham changed the civil-rights movement. The

Daily Beast.com. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/02/how-the-children-of birmingham-changed-the-civil-rights-movement.html

-       Share and discuss this article explaining the significance of the Children’s March. What connections and findings are factual in comparison to the information presented in Levinson’s We’ve Got a Job?

Video – Birmingham and the Children’s March provided by PBS.org

-       http://www.pbs.org/video/2365002209/

View this video regarding the Children’s March.

Published Reviews:

Publishers Weekly remarks that We’ve Got a Job contains 

“powerful period photos and topical sidebars [that] heighten the story’s impact.”

Publishers Weekly. (2012). We’ve got a job: The 1963 birmingham children’s march.

           Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-56145-627-7

Kirkus Review states that We’ve Got a Job is

“a moving record of young people rising at a pivotal historical moment.”

Kirkus Review. (2012). We’ve got a job. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book

reviews/cynthia-y-levinson/weve-got-job-1963-birmingham-childrens-march/

Take a trip back in history with four courageous youth!

~ Mandy

*cover image borrowed from www.barnesandnoble.com