Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader

Duster, the great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells (1862–1931), narrates this biography of Wells, “an educator, a journalist, a feminist, a businesswoman, a newspaper owner, a public speaker, a suffragist, a civil rights activist, and a women’s club leader,” as well as a cofounder of the NAACP. Straightforward prose highlights instances of Wells’s persistence against injustice, while Freeman’s multilayered digital illustrations enrich the text with cinematic vignettes. Spreads include scrapbook-style layouts and portraits filled with light, hues, patterns, and textures. If some of the diction is a bit elevated for the stated age range (“lynching was used to keep the Black community in an economically and socially inferior position”), Duster’s profile succeeds in celebrating an accomplished, outspoken innovator, introducing a clear icon of justice, equality, and determination. Back matter includes a timeline and a note about Wells’s legacy. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)