Loretta Little Looks Back

Three Voices Go Tell It

Contributors

By Andrea Davis Pinkney

By Brian Pinkney

On Sale
Sep 29, 2020
Page Count
288 pages
ISBN-13
9780316536776

From a bestselling and award-winning husband and wife team comes an innovative, beautifully illustrated novel that delivers a front-row seat to the groundbreaking moments in history that led to African Americans earning the right to vote.

“Right here, I’m sharing the honest-to-goodness.” — Loretta

“I’m gon’ reach back, and tell how it all went. I’m gon’ speak on it. My way.” — Roly

“I got more nerve than a bad tooth. But there’s nothing bad about being bold.” — Aggie B.

Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B., members of the Little family, each present the vivid story of their young lives, spanning three generations. Their separate stories — beginning in a cotton field in 1927 and ending at the presidential election of 1968 — come together to create one unforgettable journey.

Through an evocative mix of fictional first-person narratives, spoken-word poems, folk myths, gospel rhythms and blues influences, Loretta Little Looks Back weaves an immersive tapestry that illuminates the dignity of sharecroppers in the rural South. Inspired by storytelling’s oral tradition, stirring vignettes are presented in a series of theatrical monologues that paint a gripping, multidimensional portrait of America’s struggle for civil rights as seen through the eyes of the children who lived it. The novel’s unique format invites us to walk in their shoes. Each encounters an unexpected mystical gift, passed down from one family member to the next, that ignites their experience what it means to reach for freedom.

  • *"..timely and important read."
    Kirkus, starred review
  • Praise for Loretta Little Looks Back:
    *"Art adds elegant portraits of land and family to these vivid tales..."
    Publishers Weekly, starred review
  • *"...an unforgettable reading experience. Perfect for every library."
    School Library Journal, starred review
  • "...a gratifyingly unconventional format and a musical sequence of storytelling that may illuminate some stark moments of our country's history."
    BCCB

Formats and Prices

Price

$17.99

Price

$22.99 CAD

Andrea Davis Pinkney

About the Author

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of nearly 50 books for children and young adults, including The Red Pencil and Bird in a BoxShe has also produced several collaborations with her husband two-time Caldecott Honor-winning artist Brian Pinkney, including Sit -In, Martin & Mahalia, and Hand in Hand, winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award. Ms. Pinkney has been recognized by Children’s Health magazine as one of the “25 Most Influential People in our Children’s Lives,” and has been inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Daniel Minter has illustrated over a dozen children’s books, including Going Down Home with Daddy which won a 2020 Caldecott Honor and Ellen’s Broom which won a Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor. He is known for his work in the mediums of painting and assemblage. He lives in Portland, Maine.

Learn more about this author

Brian Pinkney

About the Author

Brian Pinkney has illustrated numerous books for children, including two Caldecott Honor books, and he has written and illustrated several of his own books. Brian has received the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration and three Coretta Scott King Book Award Honor medals.

Learn more about this author