When Jo Louis Won the Title - Softcover

Rochelle, Belinda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0395816572 ISBN 13: 9780395816578

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1996

Synopsis

Jo Louis dreads her first day in her new school because she is sure that the other children will make fun of her name.

About this title

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From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-The first day at a new school causes anxiety for Jo Louis, a young African-American girl who worries that she'll be teased because of her unusual name. Her grandfather tries to comfort her by telling her the story of its origins. He describes how as a young man he moved to Harlem from the South in search of a better life, and how upon his arrival he got caught up in a spirited celebration because Joe Louis had just won the heavyweight boxing title. That same night, Jo's grandfather met his future wife; hence they named their son after the champion, and he in turn passed it on to his daughter. Grandfather tells Jo that she should be proud of her name, and she is relieved when she has a positive first encounter with a classmate. Rochelle pens a warm, intergenerational story, and Johnson's paintings work well with the text. While Joe Louis and the significance of his victory will have to be explained to most of the intended audience, the fear associated with the first day in a new school will not. Try paring this book with Jacob Lawrence's The Great Migration (HarperCollins, 1993).
Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0395816572
• ISBN 13: 9780395816578
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Johnson Larry