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

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.

The inspiring events that take place in When the Schools Shut Down were experienced firsthand by Yolanda Gladden herself, who is the mother of three and lives in Farmville, Virginia.

Dr. Tamara Pizzoli, who helped pen When the Schools Shut Down, is a Texas-born publisher, curator, author, and educator. She is the author of many celebrated books for children, including Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO.

Keisha Morris is a storyteller and illustrator who grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, and currently resides in Maryland. She earned her BFA in illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and enjoys creating characters whose personalities jump off the page. Keisha is the illustrator of When the Schools Shut Down, written by Yolanda Gladden and Dr. Tamara Pizzoli; The Truth About Mrs. Claus, written by Meena Harris; Words of Wonder from Z to A, by 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner Zaila Avant-garde; All Aboard the School Train by Glenda Armand; and many others. Keisha made her author-illustrator debut with Between Two Windows. When she is not drawing, she loves spending time with her wife, daughter, and two fur babies, Elphie and Ollie! Visit her online at keishamorris.com.