Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this illuminating picture book biography about a figure who "could always find a way," Clark-Rhines and Clark-Robinson frame the life of civil rights activist and teacher Septima Clark (1898--1987) as one driven by the subject's passion for education and belief in equality. Clark was raised in Charleston by her formerly enslaved father and freeborn Haitian mother, who believed that education was the key to granting their daughter more in life. When school proved "not much" ("Black students had to sit... on the bleachers, doing nothing") her mother took on housework for a former teacher in exchange for tutoring. At 18, Clark became a teacher herself, using Sears catalogs to teach reading when books for her students proved scarce. In the 1950s, after literacy tests were imposed to disenfranchise Black people, Clark used her experience to establish "citizenship schools" that taught "folks to own their rights." And following a request from Martin Luther King Jr., "she taught thousands of teachers, and together, they taught hundreds of thousands of adult students." Emotionally driven text introduces the figure's favorite childhood hymn, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round," referencing its message of perseverance at significant moments, while Albano-Payton's thickly stroked oil illustrations supply expressive portraits on every spread. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Authors' notes and a timeline conclude. Ages 4--8. (Jan.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
Born female, Black, and poor in the Jim Crow South, Septima Clark (1898-1987) had parents who wanted "more for their daughter...than the white world wanted her to have." Believing that education was key, her mother provided babysitting and laundry services to a neighbor who in exchange taught Septima to read. In turn, Clark herself became a teacher, first in a segregated school in her native South Carolina, then moving to Tennessee to work with adults in "citizenship schools," teaching them reading as well as preparing them to vote and fight for their rights as citizens. Her successes, and her indominable spirit, caught the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who asked her to work with teachers to prepare additional adults to vote. By 1969, over seven hundred thousand citizenship school graduates could legally vote. Strains of the civil rights anthem "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" (with each refrain substituting nobody with Clark's challenges, such as poverty, jail, and racism) float throughout the text, underscoring her determination. The oil on canvas illustrations often extend the narrative, showing other African Americans experiencing similar circumstances, and a double-page spread shows some of the people seen as carrying on Clark's work (e.g., Barack Obama, Stacey Abrams). The story, cowritten by Clark's granddaughter Clark-Rhines, is a fitting tribute to an often-overlooked Black woman of the civil rights movement. Appended with authors' notes and a timeline. betty carterMarch/April 2026 p.79 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An eloquent tribute to the character and achievements of a decidedly undersung mover and shaker of the Civil Rights Movement. "Born poor. Born Black. Born a girl." Septima Clark faced plenty of obstacles, but having learned peace from her daddy and strength from her mama, "Septima couldalways find a way." Growing up to become a teacher, she established a network of "citizenship schools" that by 1969 had helped over 700,000 Black students pass discriminatory voter registration tests and learn how to be community leaders and activists. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called her the Mother of the Movement and asked her to accompany him to Oslo to receive his Nobel Peace Prize. She went on battling discrimination of every sort, the authors conclude, even after the male leaders of the movement forced her to retire in 1970. "Mama Seppie" remains an icon, "the embodiment of Black Girl (Woman) Magic." Lyrics from the freedom song "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" appear throughout. In stately oil paintings, Albano-Payton depicts Clark from grave child to formidable, gray-haired fighter--in schoolrooms, behind prison bars, on the march, and generally surrounded by equally serious, brown-skinned pupils and supporters of all ages. The work ends with notes from both co-authors; Clark-Rhines, Septima Clark's granddaughter, pays tribute to her grandmother's "perseverance, tenacity, strength, and…attitude of service for her people." Tardy, significant recognition. (timeline, select quotes)(Picture-book biography. 7-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
