Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It

by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Brian Pinkney (Artist)

Overview

From a bestselling and award-winning husband and wife team comes an innovative, beautifully illustrated novel that delivers a front-row seat to the groundbreaking moments in history that led to African Americans earning the right to vote.

"Right here, I'm sharing the honest-to-goodness." — Loretta

"I'm gon' reach back, and tell how it all went. I'm gon' speak on it. My way." — Roly

"I got more nerve than a bad tooth. But there's nothing bad about being bold." — Aggie B.

Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B., members of the Little family, each present the vivid story of their young lives, spanning three generations. Their separate stories — beginning in a cotton field in 1927 and ending at the presidential election of 1968 — come together to create one unforgettable journey.

Through an evocative mix of fictional first-person narratives, spoken-word poems, folk myths, gospel rhythms and blues influences, Loretta Little Looks Back weaves an immersive tapestry that illuminates the dignity of sharecroppers in the rural South. Inspired by storytelling's oral tradition, stirring vignettes are presented in a series of theatrical monologues that paint a gripping, multidimensional portrait of America's struggle for civil rights as seen through the eyes of the children who lived it. The novel's unique format invites us to walk in their shoes. Each encounters an unexpected mystical gift, passed down from one family member to the next, that ignites their experience what it means to reach for freedom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316536738
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/25/2022
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	525,113
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of nearly 50 books for young readers, among them The Red Pencil and A Poem for Peter, as well as several collaborations with her husband Brian Pinkney, including Sit - In and Hand in Hand, which received the Coretta Scott King Book Award.

Brian Pinkney has illustrated numerous books for children, including two Caldecott Honor books, and he has written and illustrated several of his own books. Brian has received the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration and three Coretta Scott King Book Award Honor medals.

The Pinkneys have been named among the "25 Most Influential People in Our Children's Lives" by Children's Health magazine. They live in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Loretta Little Looks Back:


*"Art adds elegant portraits of land and family to these vivid tales..."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"..timely and important read."—Kirkus, starred review

*"...an unforgettable reading experience. Perfect for every library."—School Library Journal, starred review

*"As always, Pinkney's writing sings, rich with metaphor, lyricism, and touches of magic realism..."—Booklist

*"...a compelling testimony of resilience."—The Horn Book, starred review

"...a gratifyingly unconventional format and a musical sequence of storytelling that may illuminate some stark moments of our country's history."—BCCB

"Sparkling with Southern diction and rhythms, peppered with poems and songs, Pinkney's monologues invite readers' out­loud participation."—The New York Times

From the Publisher

★ 08/24/2020

“Inspired by the collective voices of many,” the married cocreators incisively invoke oral tradition in fictionalized accounts of a Black family enduring political and economic oppression under Jim Crow. In Mississippi, three dynamically rendered family members tell the stories of a changing society on the brink of change. Through a narrative running from 1927 to 1930, Loretta, the youngest daughter of sharecroppers, relates the casually dehumanizing effect of an intentionally mispronounced name in stories about her hardworking father. In the 1940s, Loretta’s brother Roly, a foundling infant taken in by the Littles, grows up to be a sharecropper and landowner facing limitations similar to those that ruled his father’s life. And in the 1960s, Aggie B., Roly’s stubbornly independent daughter, takes up the cause of Black suffrage at the height of the civil rights era, detailing the dampening effect of hand-to-mouth poverty on political involvement. Selective incorporation of real-life historical figures (Emmett Till, Fannie Lou Hamer) and events (voter registration drives, Democratic National Conventions) lends authenticity to each narrator’s story, an ideal accompaniment to the lyricism woven throughout. Art adds elegant portraits of land and family to these vivid tales, and end notes offer historical context and further reading recommendations. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 09/01/2020

Gr 5 Up—Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B., members of the Little family, recount their lives through original first-person narratives, poetry, and spiritual hymns. The first to tell her story is Loretta Little, who is as strong as any adult and can box cotton with the best of them. Her life as a sharecropper's daughter imbues her with great strength, but is not without sacrifice. Next up is Roly, whose story begins when Loretta and her sisters find him abandoned in a field as a baby and raise him. He grows up with an affinity for nature and an intuition for what the farm animals and crops need. The last to tell her story is Aggie B., Roly's daughter, and the B stands for "bold." Even though she is young, she stands by her beliefs and feels it is her duty to help African Americans exercise their right to vote. Every character has a unique voice and an engaging presence. From the first page, readers are invested in these characters' journeys as they navigate fantastic triumphs and devastating lows. The members of the Little family meld well with each other and realistically portray a close-knit family dynamic. This creatively written monologue novel uses the style of stage performance, allowing readers to visualize every monologue or poem performed. The pleasing artwork punctuates each chapter with added depth. VERDICT The combination of elements drawing on oral tradition and folklore set this book apart, making it an unforgettable reading experience. Perfect for every library.—Myiesha Speight, Towson Univ., Baltimore

School Library Journal

Author Andrea Pinkney creates something extraordinary in this monologue novel using the oral history tradition to explore the effects of racism and segregation through generations. The Littles of Ruleville, Mississippi—Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B.—know hardship and oppression in their bones, but they also know joy and love. Dashawn Barnes, Deborah Wilson, and Ralph Harris narrate this production with fire and spirit, inhabiting the characters like actors on a stage. Listeners will be swept away by the power of these distinct voices as they follow the Littles from the 1920s to the 1960s. Pinkney’s goal was a production that young listeners could perform themselves; the narrators offer both a stirring set of performances and a map to guide those who follow in their footsteps. N.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Author Andrea Pinkney creates something extraordinary in this monologue novel using the oral history tradition to explore the effects of racism and segregation through generations. The Littles of Ruleville, Mississippi—Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B.—know hardship and oppression in their bones, but they also know joy and love. Dashawn Barnes, Deborah Wilson, and Ralph Harris narrate this production with fire and spirit, inhabiting the characters like actors on a stage. Listeners will be swept away by the power of these distinct voices as they follow the Littles from the 1920s to the 1960s. Pinkney’s goal was a production that young listeners could perform themselves; the narrators offer both a stirring set of performances and a map to guide those who follow in their footsteps. N.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

★ 2020-07-28
Three members of the Little family, as preteens and teens, tell their personal and family stories.

First, Loretta Little speaks, from 1927 to 1930, about her life picking cotton as a sharecropper, watching her father endure degradation under conditions that are less than completely free. Next, ’Retta’s little brother, Roly, speaks from 1942 to 1950. The family now has their own small plot of land, but terrorists poison their animals to keep them in check. After this heartbreak, Roly finds love, marries, and has a child, Aggie B., the final narrator, who brings readers from 1962 to 1968. Aggie is the youngest volunteer in her town’s voter-registration effort, helping Aunt ’Retta to study for the unfair test and then to save up pennies to pay the poll tax. She is beaten savagely by racists and attends the Democratic National Convention twice, giving readers a front-row seat to history. Author Pinkney’s writing is alive with imagery; the unusual monologue format works ideally read aloud in pieces and offers rich opportunities for readers' theater. Each character presents an engaging contrast to the others, and the slow progress from Jim Crow days to the 1960s illuminates a little-examined piece of U.S. history while making it deeply personal. Illustrator Pinkney’s grayscale paintings open and close chapters with rounded frames and expressive features, memorably connecting and highlighting the story's themes of family and land.

Readers will hear the history come alive. (author's notes, illustrator's notes, photos, further reading) (Historical fiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews