Published by Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Summary:  Growing up in Chicago, Diane Nash went to integrated schools and didn’t experience much discrimination.  When she went to Fisk University, though, she was appalled by the Jim Crow laws she encountered in Nashville.  Unwilling to accept the status quo, she overcame her fears to protest segregated lunch counters, eventually leading a movement that led to the mayor desegregating all of Nashville’s counters.  She went on to work with Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Freedom Riders to end segregation of interstate buses.  When she was sent to jail while expecting her first child, her refusal to be released on bail drew national attention.  Diane later returned to Chicago and continued her activism, losing her passport when she traveled to North Vietnam in 1966.  She’s traveled across the U.S. for decades, continuing to deliver her message that love creates change.  Includes an author’s note, an illustrator’s note, a timeline, and additional resources.  48 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  An inspiring story of a woman whose incredible courage led to real changes during the civil rights movement, and who has kept that work going to this day (she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022).  As usual, Bryan Collier’s beautiful watercolor and collage illustrations should be considered for Caldecott or King award.

Cons:  I found the second-person narrative (“You arrive in the spring of 1938…”) confusing when it came to describing some of the events Diane Nash was involved in.