Name: The Lions of Little Rock
ISBN: 9780545559553

Kristin Sims Levine

In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration, but her friendship with Liz, a new student, helps her find her voice and fight against racism.

The Lions of Little Rock

Kristin Levine

Melissa Palmer

Book #65 Read in 2012
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

This is a great historical fiction book for young adults. This book is set in the late 1950s in the south and address the issue of segregation of races in schools. In this book, Marlee is very shy and basically doesn't talk to anyone outside of her immediate family. Then she meets Liz, the new girl at school. The two strike up a friendship. Liz wants to help Marlee speak more so they work together on an oral report for class. Then Marlee finds out that Liz is actually an African American passing as a white person and that Liz will no longer be attending the same school as Marlee. Marlee does not want to lose her as a friend so she ends up contacting her, not truly understanding the danger that this friendship can cause the girls, their families and their communities.

This book was extremely well written and gave an accurate view of a horrific time in our not so past history. The characters are well developed and interesting. This book sucks you right in and is hard to put down. I really enjoyed it.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

Amanda Kordeliski

One of the most beautiful stories I have read this year. Loved it.

Nadine 

#segregation #rights good book for upper elementary talking about school closings and a young girl finding her voice - literally and a friend across the color barrier. Some characterization a little too "black & white" no pun intended - the Nobel black pastor, the empathetic maid, and perhaps some conversations less than likely but all in all well told

Jeni Enjaian

After attending an amazing seminar in which Penny Kittle served as the keynote speaker, I decided to embark on a modified version of a book club with my gifted and talented students. We have a unit coming up where we study "Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963" and I instantly knew that the way I wanted to set it up included a book club. For that reason, I did some preliminary research to find books at a variety of levels and types to offer as a choice for my students. Since I have not read several of these books, I decided to start by checking out the books from our school library and reading them myself before I book talk them to the students.
After that long-winded introduction, I now come to my review of this particular book. I could sum up this book in one word. Amazing.
Levine created a wonderfully flawed yet strong character in Marlee. Her reactions resonated with me. Her character changed and grew believably and also presents challenge and conviction to anyone who reads this book. At a couple points I could not put the book down. When I finished, I felt chills. Incredible book.

Abby N. Lewis

This was a very adorable book that was set in a time period that I had only just finished learning about in my history class last semester, so it was very easy for me to understand and relate to what was going on in the book.

It is a highly recommendable book for educational purposes. While I was reading, I would notice little facts that I had been told about in school and that I had failed to remember during a test, but let me tell you, I will surely remember them now.

Marlee as a character was perfect in every way. She very much reminded me of a combination of my younger sister and myself. She had my shyness and my sister's love for math and numbers.

Overall, I think I connected with it so much because it related to things that I had recently learned about and shed a new light and a new perspective on it. This is what I love about historical fiction- it takes the boring old facts out of the textbook and out of the school and puts it in a language that younger people will understand better. Sure, it doesn't have ALL of the facts, perfectly listed in chronological order, but at least it gives you a healthy dose in a way that a kid will understand and actually remember. Five stars, Mrs. Levine.

Milana Marie Waller

Stop reading this review and READ THE BOOK

Shannon Leigh Williams

This book is amazing!
After having it recommended to me by a dear friend of mine who loves historical fiction, I knew it was going to be a great read. When I found out it was about best friends, I got even more excited to read it! And the icing on the cake? It was set in 1958, Little Rock, Arkansas. I have always been super intrigued by that time period & the struggles of segregation vs. integration. I am an activist for so many things & I love that aspect of this story. Definitely a worthwhile read!

The Lions of Little Rock

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