Black Jack: The Ballad Of Jack Johnson <small> by Charles R. Smith, Jr. </small>

Black Jack was a BRAVE man.
Black Jack was a STRONG man.
Black Jack was a Brave, Strong, FIGHTIN' man.
But mostly, Black Jack was his
OWN man

Black Jack was born in 1878 in Texas. His name was Arthur John Johnson and his parents were freed slaves who taught him pride and gave him the will to better himself. He worked all sorts of jobs to make a living, but what suited him was boxing. He became a good boxer, a great boxer with the style. And he set his sites on the Boxing Championship, but there was only one problem. The white boxers wouldn't fight him.

THE SKINNY:::

The Ballad of Jack Johnson did a fabulous job of presenting bigotry and prejudice in a way that children can understand. It portrays Black Jack in a positive light, and then throws what is obviously unfair adversity in his way.

Leaving prejudice aside, the book gives children an example of what it means to want to succeed badly enough that you'll fight long and hard for it. And the story rewards them by showing children how Black Jack fought 'the system' and made the world rethink it's old way of doing things and thinking about people... when he became the World's First Black Heavyweight Champion!

Great artwork by Shane W. Evans. It's evocative, accessible, and interesting.

I never could quite get the hang of Charles Smith Jr's prose when I read the book aloud, but it didn't really matter. He conjured up a great story and clearly made his points.

I read this book to my 8- and 10-year-old kids and we had some lively talks about this book. I think Black Jack could be read to much younger children, who even if they don't understand prejudice yet, can understand that the idea of working for what you want.

This would be a great addition to a history unit. Roaring Press has a Teacher's Guide and preview available here.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs