As Fast as Words Could Fly

Tuck's story, based on her father's personal experiences with school segregation in 1960s North Carolina, won Lee & Low's New Voices award in 2007, resulting in this picture book, illustrated in dramatic oil paintings by Velasquez (The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery). Mason Steele helps his father's civil rights efforts by writing letters for him; when the Steeles get a manual typewriter, Mason shows a gift for typing quickly and accurately. After a court case wins Mason and his brothers the right to attend a local high school, they are met with distrust and outright hostility at every turn. Against the odds, Mason's typing skills earn him the chance to represent the school at a typing competition, but his record-setting victory there is tinged by prejudice: "Not a single person in the audience clapped. Mason received nothing." Tuck lays bare the challenges that faced Mason and black students like him, but she also tempers the story's cold realities with moments of hope, echoed by the pride and determination visible in scenes of Mason and his family. Ages 3-8. (Apr.)

Gr 2-5—Velasquez's vibrant paintings animate this earnest story based on actual incidents in the life of the author's father. Fourteen-year-old Mason transcribes letters for his father, a local civil rights activist; as a reward, he receives a manual typewriter. Then he and his older brothers learn that they'll be among the first to desegregate their local high school. It's not easy: the school bus driver refuses to stop for them, fellow students and teachers ignore them; but as Pa says, "Somebody's got to make a change." Mason quietly perseveres and his typing skills win him a job in the school library. Eventually, he earns the right to represent the school at a regional typing contest. Velasquez deepens readers' understanding and empathy for these characters with well-chosen details: Mason listens eagerly to Pa's impassioned speeches as Ma looks on with a bemused smile. The striking compositions in rich browns and blues, along with Tuck's pride in her family, help distinguish this story of perseverance and courage. This well-crafted tale would be an excellent complement to overviews of the Civil Rights Movement.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA