  | Carlotta's special dress : how a walk to school changed civil rights history Author: LaNier, Carlotta Walls | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
The true story of Carlotta Walls LaNier's experience as one of the Little Rock Nine and the brand-new dress she bought in anticipation of her historic first day at an all-white school.
| Added Entry - Personal Name: | Page, Lisa Frazier |
| Illustrator: | Brantley-Newton, Vanessa |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (10/01/25)
School Library Journal (12/12/25)
Booklist (+) (12/01/25)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/11/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Other - 11/03/2025 Underlining the intersection of everyday and historic moments, Walls LaNier and Frazier Page take a child’s perspective to recount Walls LaNier’s experience in integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957. When segregation laws change, and Carlotta Walls (b. 1942) receives money from her uncle for a store-bought dress, she picks a black frock covered in letters and numbers-"The perfect dress for a perfect first day." But the first day of school is delayed by protests, and even after lawyers affirm the right of Black students to attend, the Arkansas National Guard turns them away. Disheartened, Walls packs up the special dress, and it’s nowhere to be seen after President Eisenhower sends the 101st Airborne to escort the Little Rock Nine into Central, in a moment when "the world is watching us win." Textile patterns weave throughout Brantley-Newton’s loosely worked digital collage illustrations, which focus on portraiture. An abrupt ending depicts the frock on display in a museum. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note and timeline conclude. Ages 6-8. (Jan.) - Copyright 2025
School Library Journal - 12/12/2025 Gr 1–3—As the summer of 1957 comes to an end, 14-year-old Arkansan Carlotta is excited to start at a new school where she will be one of its first Black students. Carlotta's favorite uncle, Em, gives her $20 to buy a new dress. Usually, Carlotta's mom makes her dresses, but for this walk to the first day of school, Carlotta needs to look perfect. Carlotta and her mom go shopping, and the girl finds exactly what she's looking for. She hopes that her new dress will show the angry grown-ups fighting against integration that she isn't scary. But before Carlotta can start at school, the governor calls in the National Guard to keep her and the other new Black kids out of the student body. Carlotta and her Black peers soon become known as the Little Rock Nine. President Eisenhower, hearing what happens, sends in a special military to help protect the kids. Though the group is able to go to school now, their journey is far from an easy one. Nearly 70 years later, Lanier and Page's book offers an eye-opening account of what Lanier endured as the youngest student in the Little Rock Nine. Newton combines digital and collage art styles to create unique, multidimensional illustrations that depict Black characters with a range of dark and light skin tones. VERDICT This compelling account of a historical civil rights event is a must-purchase for all collections.—Myiesha Speight - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
