Review by Booklist Review
This soaring salute to the author of A Raisin in the Sun--the first Broadway play written by a Black woman--casts Hansberry as a vibrant young person searching for ways to convey the lives and experiences of her world. Though reticent about Hansberry's death at just 34 (there are only oblique mentions in the author's and illustrator's notes at the end), Leslie does cover other major biographical highlights, from her subject's early life in Chicago and the legal case against race-based housing covenants that her activist parents took to the U.S. Supreme Court to her first visit to a theater at age 14 and later social contacts with many mid-twentieth-century Black cultural luminaries--all, including particular "friend and kindred spirit" James Baldwin, drawn by Wise with mobile, recognizable features. Unusually for picture-book biographies, there are also both narrative and visual references to Hansberry's private life, including her conflicted feelings about being more drawn to women than men: "It didn't feel wrong to love women, but everyone said it was wrong. In New York City, it was even illegal." Nonetheless, as the story takes her through struggles to finish her great play and ends with its triumphant opening, her courage, intelligence, and forceful personality shine out. Resource lists accompany further information about Baldwin and others who inspired her.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--5--This book follows the development of Lorraine Hansberry's writing career. It begins with her childhood goal of writing about the stories happening in her neighborhood, followed by her difficulty in finding the right focus for her writing as she grew older, and ending with successfully writing a play about her family's experience moving from their Black neighborhood in Chicago to a white neighborhood nearby where they were not accepted by their neighbors. Hansberry's play based on her family's move showed how her parents were determined to keep their new house, despite facing hostile mobs and name-calling. Hansberry's father took his case to the Supreme Court, where he won. He demonstrated that he had the right to live anywhere he wanted to. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, made it to Broadway, where it portrayed the true experience of her family. In the process of writing, Hansberry also revealed the truth about many other Black people's experiences. Leslie mentions that Hansberry realized that she was attracted to women, and how that was part of finding her voice and identity. It also shows how members of the Black community supported and celebrated Hansberry's work. VERDICT This well-written and well-illustrated book introduces young readers to an important writer, and is an excellent choice for discussing the significance of writers finding their own voices.--Myra Zarnowski
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