Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls

by Tonya Bolden

Overview

Discover the lives of 16 extraordinary Black Americans in this engaging collection from Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner Tonya Bolden

Untold numbers of Black men and women in America have achieved great things against the odds. In this insightful book, award-winning author Tonya Bolden commemorates the lives of sixteen Black individuals who dared to dream, take risks, and chart courses to success. They were Pathfinders.

In these pages you will meet Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who was instrumental in putting U.S. astronauts on the moon; Venture Smith, an African man who was enslaved in America but later bought his own freedom; Richard Potter, a magician whose methods paved the way for entertainers like Harry Houdini; Sissieretta Jones, an opera singer who captivated audiences all over the world with her enchanting voice; James Forten, a powder boy then prisoner of war during the Revolution who grew up to be one of Philadelphia’s leading abolitionists and wealthiest citizens; James McCune Smith, the first Black university-trained physician in the United States; Mary Bowser, a spy during the Civil War; Allen Allensworth, town founder; Clara Brown, one of the first Black women to settle in what would become Colorado; Maggie Lena Walker, the first Black woman to run a bank; Charlie Wiggins, a race car driver; Eugene Bullard, a combat pilot in World War I; Oscar Micheaux, filmmaker; Jackie Ormes, cartoonist; Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, an economist and attorney who fought for civil rights; and Paul R. Williams, architect of luxury homes and many iconic buildings in Los Angeles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419714559
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/03/2017
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	699,322
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Award-winning author Tonya Bolden’s books have garnered much praise and earned countless starred reviews. Her books have been won the James Madison Book Award and have been named the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, YALSA Best Book of the Year, and CCBC Best Book of the Year. Bolden’s works were twice nominated for an NAACP award, for her books Searching for Sarah Rector and Beautiful Moon. She won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award for Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl. Bolden’s acclaimed works include Capital Days: Michael Shiner’s Journal and the Growth of Our Nation’s Capital; Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty; 12 Days of New York; George Washington Carver; M.L.K.: Journey Of A King; Tell All the Children Our Story: Memories and Mementos of Being Young and Black in America; and Wake Up Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/14/2016
In an immersive series of brief, chronological biographies, Bolden (Capital Days) highlights 16 pioneering African-American men and women, beginning with Venture Smith—the son of a West African prince who was sold into slavery, freed himself and his family, and fought during the Revolutionary War—and concluding with mathematician and NASA researcher Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson. Detailed descriptions and sidebars offer rich portraits of each person’s life and era, and period illustrations and photographs lend further depth to figures who will likely be unfamiliar to many readers, including soprano Sissieretta Jones, banker Maggie Lena Walker, and WWI combat pilot Eugene Bullard. While recognizing these individuals’ accomplishments, Bolden makes it clear that countless other innovative and brave black citizens blazed trails alongside them. Ages 10–14. Agent: Jennifer Lyons, Jennifer Lyons Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

**STARRED REVIEW**
"A lively volume and an excellent approach to U.S. history."—Kirkus

**STARRED REVIEW**
"The lives of 16 fascinating and innovative black men and women are given due recognition in this masterly work... Teachers and librarians seeking to further develop their history and biography collections will be thrilled with this fine offering."—School Library Journal

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Detailed descriptions and sidebars offer rich portraits of each person’s life and era, and period illustrations and photographs lend further depth to figures who will likely be unfamiliar to many readers."—Publishers Weekly

"A well-researched book introducing a varied group of African Americans who excelled in their own, individual ways."—Booklist

"Bolden relates the tales of her subjects with a zest that will make for great classroom readalouds."—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"This attractive book is well laid-out with pictures and text boxes that enhance the clearly written text...During Black History Month, it would be an outstanding resource to expand students’ knowledge beyond the typical subjects of study."—School Library Connection

"This book is a fascinating, well-written account of the lives of some obscure African-Americans. Organized in a rough chronological order...the book sheds light on their abilities to overcome racism through education and employment."—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

"This attractive book is well laid-out with pictures and text boxes that enhance the clearly written text...During Black History Month, it would be an outstanding resource to expand students’ knowledge beyond the typical subjects of study."

School Library Connection

"Bolden relates the tales of her subjects with a zest that will make for great classroom readalouds."

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"A well-researched book introducing a varied group of African Americans who excelled in their own, individual ways."

Booklist

"Bolden relates the tales of her subjects with a zest that will make for great classroom readalouds."

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"A well-researched book introducing a varied group of African Americans who excelled in their own, individual ways."

Booklist

★ 11/01/2016
Gr 5–8—The lives of 16 fascinating and innovative black men and women are given due recognition in this masterly work. Bolden makes use of a variety of features to convey information in an accessible yet deeply enlightening manner. For instance, sidebars titled "In His/Her Time" provide historical context without burdening the main text with lengthy exposition. With a variety of subjects in different fields, from a magician to a mathematician, a bank founder to a race car driver, there is plenty of fresh report material within these pages. The clean layout and the smart design make for a book that is not only expertly researched but attractive as well. (Each chapter receives its own color palette, visually linking the content within that section together.) VERDICT Teachers and librarians seeking to further develop their history and biography collections will be thrilled with this fine offering.—Erinn Black Salge, Saint Peter's Prep, Jersey City, NJ

School Library Journal

★ 2016-10-19
In 16 minibiographies, Bolden tells the stories of little-known African-Americans who "had big, bold dreams. Pursued passions. Caught up with their callings." A good portion of American history is related through historical sketches arranged chronologically. The volume opens with the story of Venture Smith. Captured from his West African village and transported by slaver to America, Smith grew up in bondage, but he eventually bought his and his family's freedom and built a house, a boatyard, and a farm in the village of Haddam Neck, Connecticut. The pageant of fascinating historical characters continues with a magician, a physician, a female Civil War spy, a pioneer, a concert singer, a race car driver, a mathematician, a cartoonist, and others. The colorful volume uses photographs, advertisements, fliers, theater posters, engravings, and cartoons to great effect, each well captioned and complemented by sidebars that add historical context. An epilogue points out the changes in America since Venture Smith arrived, including the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and the Brown v. Board of Education case that struck down government-sanctioned segregation in schools. A full-page color photograph of dancer Misty Copeland concludes the volume, representing the "new odysseys…in the offing." A lively volume and an excellent approach to U.S. history. (glossary, source notes, bibliography, image credits, acknowledgments, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews