The Many Faces of Josephine Baker: Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy

by Peggy Caravantes

Overview

With determination and audacity, Josephine Baker used her comic and musical abilities to become a worldwide icon of the Jazz Age. This lively biography covers her outspoken participation in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, espionage work for the French Resistance during World War II and adoption of 12 children—her “rainbow tribe.” The lush photographs, in-depth appendix, source notes and bibliography make this is a must-have resource for any student, Baker fan or history buff.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613738320
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/01/2018
Series:	Women of Action Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	663,111
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1100L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Peggy Caravantes is a former English and history teacher, middle school principal and deputy school superintendent. She is the author of 16 books for middle grades and young adult readers, including Marooned in the Arctic, American Hero: The Audie Murphy Story and Petticoat Spies: Six Women Spies of the Civil War. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

1 Her Own Journey 1

2 Show Business Debut 15

3 Joséphine Charms Paris 29

4 La Folie du Jour 41

5 Two Loves 59

6 Storms of Life 73

7 Josephine's Challenges 89

8 Let My People Go 103

9 In My Village 117

10 Josephine and Jo Split 131

11 Losing Les Milandes 145

12 The Curtain Falls 159

Appendix: The Rainbow Tribe 171

Notes 175

Bibliography 183

Index 187

Editorial Reviews

"A fascinating, compelling story of a remarkably resilient woman who overcame poverty and racial prejudice to become an international celebrity.” —Kirkus Reviews


"[A] balanced and readable biography.” —Booklist Online


“Baker's story is inspiring enough to provide interesting reading beyond simple report writing. Recommended especially for collections in African American and women's studies, but it may also be useful for history and entertainment buffs in general.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

01/01/2015
Gr 6 Up—Josephine Baker, entertainer, ex-pat, and activist, is a unique and controversial figure of the Jazz Age. Admitting that verifying the truth of Baker's life proves difficult, Caravantes offers a thorough biography. Where there is more than one version of a story, she is careful to explain the origin of the distortion—often Baker herself, as she rewrote her own history to better suit the image she wanted to project. A remarkable woman nonetheless, Josephine, illiterate most of her life, pulled herself out of extreme poverty and often disturbing conditions in the slums of East St. Louis to become the toast of Paris, where racial prejudice was less pronounced than in the United States. An adoptive mother of 13 children, she was recruited to spy for France during World War II. Baker suffered numerous ups and downs, many of her own making, but she never lost her faith that all people should live in brotherhood. This is a straightforward biography, enhanced by photographs, sidebars, source notes, and bibliography. The prose is workmanlike, but Baker's story is inspiring enough to provide interesting reading beyond simple report writing. Recommended especially for collections in African American and women's studies, but it may also be useful for history and entertainment buffs in general.—Katherine Koenig, The Ellis School, PA

School Library Journal

2014-12-06
An honest, revealing portrait of the famed entertainer and activist who was born into extreme poverty and became an international iconic star of the Jazz Age.Growing up in squalor in East St. Louis, sickly, unschooled, pushed by her mother to find work at the age of 7 and married at 13, Baker's future looked bleak, but she was determined to leave her grim life behind. Her natural comedic ability got Baker work in vaudeville, and she quickly proved herself a gifted dancer and singer and found increasingly lucrative work. At 19, Baker was performing in Paris and, in a few short years, became an international sensation. Caravantes discusses how Baker used her fame to spy for the Allies during World War II and devoted time to entertaining troops. She also chronicles Baker's work as a civil rights activist, using her clout to demand integrated audiences at her performances, publicly condemning racism in the United States, and adopting her Rainbow Tribe, 12 children representing different nationalities, ethnicities and religions in an effort to prove racial harmony possible. This warts-and-all portrait reveals that Baker was a complex, enigmatic personality who could be as selfish as she was generous, as mean-spirited as she was compassionate, and as inconsiderate as she was thoughtful. A fascinating, compelling story of a remarkably resilient woman who overcame poverty and racial prejudice to become an international celebrity. (source notes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews