A review by erine
The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch by Chris Barton
5.0
I love Don Tate's illustration style. There's something incredibly emotional about the way he draws, and here he must balance the seriousness of the time period and topics (slavery and Reconstruction, injustice) with the fact that this is a book intended for kids. Somehow he threads that needle and depicts serious and violent things without graphic imagery.
Recently I read [b:Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana|55783024|Monumental Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana|Brian K. Mitchell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603740116l/55783024._SX50_.jpg|87002855], and with recent events, the Reconstruction period seems like it's just begging for some extra attention. So I appreciated learning about how Oscar Dunn was elected to Lieutenant Governor in Louisiana in 1868. And in this biography, I learned that John Roy Lynch was elected to Mississippi's House of Representatives in 1869, and as a Mississippi representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1872. One of the most heartbreaking parts of Reconstruction was the way it ended after offering so much hard-won hope and opportunity. This is addressed here mainly as an afterward, but there is ample context for Lynch's life depicting his childhood in slavery, his young adulthood as a newly freed independent worker, and then his early adult life as a representative.
Another book to add to this group of Reconstruction biographies is [b:The Escape of Robert Smalls: A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery|43587007|The Escape of Robert Smalls A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery|Jehan Jones-Radgowski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554317598l/43587007._SX50_.jpg|67816524], another Reconstruction politician.
Recently I read [b:Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana|55783024|Monumental Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana|Brian K. Mitchell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603740116l/55783024._SX50_.jpg|87002855], and with recent events, the Reconstruction period seems like it's just begging for some extra attention. So I appreciated learning about how Oscar Dunn was elected to Lieutenant Governor in Louisiana in 1868. And in this biography, I learned that John Roy Lynch was elected to Mississippi's House of Representatives in 1869, and as a Mississippi representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1872. One of the most heartbreaking parts of Reconstruction was the way it ended after offering so much hard-won hope and opportunity. This is addressed here mainly as an afterward, but there is ample context for Lynch's life depicting his childhood in slavery, his young adulthood as a newly freed independent worker, and then his early adult life as a representative.
Another book to add to this group of Reconstruction biographies is [b:The Escape of Robert Smalls: A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery|43587007|The Escape of Robert Smalls A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery|Jehan Jones-Radgowski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554317598l/43587007._SX50_.jpg|67816524], another Reconstruction politician.