Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 08/01/2019 *Starred Review* In 1931, the Mexican American students of Lemon Grove School in California were told they could no longer attend and instead must move to an inferior, ill-equipped building. The community, including Anglo and Mexican American families, rallied and boycotted both schools, which led to a lawsuit: Roberto Álvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. This engaging, bilingual informational text puts Roberto’s fight for equality front and center. A corrido, or Spanish ballad, precedes the narrative, giving the book an epic feel. The captivating illustrations are rendered in gouache and relief printing inks in verdant and warm colors. This work sensitively and accurately depicts the racist repercussions of segregation and also shines a light on the power of unity and community in action. Extensive back matter, including photos, reproductions, source notes, and quotations, will encourage further study. This court case should be celebrated alongside Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. A must-have, illuminating gem. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2019 Gr 3–6—It is 1930, and young student Roberto Álvarez loves school in Lemon Grove, where Mexican and Anglo children learn and play together. When Roberto's family and neighbors discover the school board is planning to create a separate school for the children of Mexican families, they create the Lemon Grove Neighbors Committee, meet with the Mexican consul, and file a lawsuit against the school board. Roberto is chosen to show that the claims the school board is making—that the students were being sent to the second school to receive special attention because they needed additional help—are untrue. Roberto's concise and educated answers (shown to be spoken in complete English) help to convince the judge that separating the children is unjust. Beautiful, stylized illustrations depict the events and individuals' personalities clearly. Text in both English and Spanish accompanies the illustrations, making this a nonfiction book that will be widely accessible to readers of one or both languages. The book includes a corrido, or ballad, of the events of Lemon Grove, as well as pages with more information about the case and the participants, what happened after the case, and additional details about corridos. A source page brings these elements together to create a deeply knowledgeable text about an important time in our history. VERDICT Bilingual text and eye-catching illustrations join a treasure of additional resources to create this significant text. Highly recommended for nonfiction collections for young readers, and perfect for use alongside titles such as Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh.—Selenia Paz, Harris County Public Library, Houston - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.