Starred review from January 27, 2020
Reynolds (Look Both Ways) lends his signature flair to remixing Kendi’s award-winning Stamped from the Beginning into a powerful “not a history book” primer on the historical roots and present-day manifestations of antiblack racism in America. In five sections, Reynolds’s conversational text discusses the influential figures, movements, and events that have propagated racist ideas, beginning in 1415 with the publication of the infamous work that laid the groundwork for subsequent religious justifications of enslaving African peoples and continuing through the “war on drugs” and #BlackLivesMatter. Employing a format that hews closely to Kendi’s original, Reynolds discusses and differentiates between segregationist (“a hater”), assimilationist (“a coward”), and antiracist (“someone who truly loves”) rhetoric via figures such as Angela Davis, W.E.B. DuBois, Thomas Jefferson, and Cotton Mather. Short chapters, lively phrasing (“You know what hits do—they spread”), and intentional breaks (“Time Out,” “Let’s all just take a deep breath”) help maintain a brisk, compelling pace. Told impressively economically, loaded with historical details that connect clearly to current experiences, and bolstered with suggested reading and listening selected specifically for young readers, Kendi and Reynolds’s volume is essential, meaningfully accessible reading. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from July 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up-Kendi's National Book Award-winning book Stamped from the Beginning has been engagingly adapted here for younger listeners by Jason Reynolds. Billed as a "not history history book," the audio traces the history of racism and African American people from 1415 to the present day. Reynolds focuses more on the people that made the history than the events, which gives life to the story. Activists such as Cotton Mather, W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Angela Davis are spotlighted, as are the American Founding Fathers/slaveowners George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Slavery, the civil rights movement, and #BlackLivesMatter are covered. Kendi reads the introduction to the audio, clearly describing the differences among segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists. Reynolds narrates the rest with his customary energy and expression, and in a conservational tone which adds intimacy. The audio is set up chronologically and in easily accessible chapters. Younger listeners may find some of the issues discussed both challenging and emotional. VERDICT This audiobook, which has deservedly received a lot of media attention, should be in all secondary school libraries.-Julie Paladino, formerly with East Chapel Hill H.S., NC

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2019
Award-winning author Reynolds (Look Both Ways, 2019, etc.) presents a young readers' version of American University professor Kendi's (How To Be an Antiracist, 2019, etc.) Stamped From the Beginning (2016). This volume, which is "not a history book," chronicles racist ideology, specifically anti-blackness in the U.S., from its genesis to its pernicious manifestations in the present day. In an open, conversational tone, Reynolds makes it clear that anti-black racist ideology in the U.S. has consistently relied on the erronious belief that African people (and black people in general) are "dumb" and "savage," ideas perpetuated through the written word, other media, and pseudo-science. Using separationist, assimilationist, and anti-racist historical figures, a direct line is drawn throughout U.S history from chattel slavery through the Civil War, Jim Crow, the civil rights era, the war on drugs, and #BlackLivesMatter, with plenty of little-known, compelling, and disturbing details inserted. Readers who want to truly understand how deeply embedded racism is in the very fabric of the U.S., its history, and its systems will come away educated and enlightened. It's a monumental feat to chronicle in so few pages the history of not only anti-black racism in the U.S., but also assimilationist and anti-racist thought as well. In the process it succeeds at connecting "history directly...to our lives as we live them right this minute." Worthy of inclusion in every home and in curricula and libraries everywhere. Impressive and much needed. (Nonfiction. 12-adult)

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Starred review from January 1, 2020
Grades 7-12 *Starred Review* Reynolds continues his prolific streak with an absorbing young reader's adaptation of Kendi's National Book Award-winning title, Stamped from the Beginning (2016). This is not a history book declares Reynolds at the outset, an announcement that instantly absorbs readers, displaying the author's singular way of communicating with young people. Reynolds' remix begins in 1415 and travels into the present in five well-paced sections, following the general outline of Kendi's comprehensive title. Through figures like Cotton Mather, W. E. B Du Bois, and Angela Davis, among others, the thought patterns of segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists, respectively, are elucidated, along with the impact such ideas have on all aspects of American life. Throughout the book, Reynolds inserts literal pauses ( Record scratch ), and interjects with commentary ( Let that sink in ) and clarifications, a way of insisting that the pages are not merely text, but a conversation. Readers will undoubtedly experience a mixture of feelings after finishing this book, but the encouragement to emerge as critical thinkers who can decipher coded language and harmful imagery stemming from racist ideas, which still linger in modern society and popular culture, will be the most empowering result. Thankfully, extensive back matter is included, with source notes and a dynamic further reading list. Required reading for everyone, especially those invested in the future of young people in America.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Reynolds is practically a household name in the kidlit community, and his lively take on Kendi's National Book Award-winning history of racism is sure to garner lots of attention.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2020
Reynolds insists from the first paragraph that "this is not a history book," and he's right; what instead he has created, in high rhetorical style, is a taking-to-account of American racism: how it got here, why it sticks around, why it needs to stop. Based on Kendi's National Book Award-�winning Stamped from the Beginning (not read by this reviewer), this young reader's edition begins its argument in the European explorations and conquests of the fifteenth century, proceeding through slavery in colonial America through the Black Lives Matter movement of today. It's not an upward journey, though: the book takes a determinedly radical approach to racism and antiracism. Its heroes are John Brown, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis (very well profiled here) rather than Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., or Barack Obama. It's a point of view rarely seen in books for young people, but much of the appeal will stem from its fondness for overbold statements, like identifying a fourteenth-century Portuguese writer as "the world's first racist" only to contradict that claim with a reference to Aristotle within a few pages; and categorical thinking, like saying there were only two kinds of people in colonial America (farmers and missionaries) and, more generally, only three kinds of people in the world (racists, assimilationists, and antiracists). The casual voice is inviting if sometimes glib (comparing owning slaves to owning fancy sneakers, for example), but the joyful �pater-ing of la bourgeoisie (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education is "actually a pretty racist idea") offers lots to think and talk about. With source notes, an index, and a suggested reading list (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry).

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2020
Reynolds insists from the first paragraph that "this is not a history book," and he's right; what instead he has created, in high rhetorical style, is a taking-to-account of American racism: how it got here, why it sticks around, why it needs to stop. Based on Kendi's National Book Award--winning Stamped from the Beginning (not read by this reviewer), this young reader's edition begins its argument in the European explorations and conquests of the fifteenth century, proceeding through slavery in colonial America through the Black Lives Matter movement of today. It's not an upward journey, though: the book takes a determinedly radical approach to racism and antiracism. Its heroes are John Brown, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis (very well profiled here) rather than Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., or Barack Obama. It's a point of view rarely seen in books for young people, but much of the appeal will stem from its fondness for overbold statements, like identifying a fourteenth-century Portuguese writer as "the world's first racist" only to contradict that claim with a reference to Aristotle within a few pages; and categorical thinking, like saying there were only two kinds of people in colonial America (farmers and missionaries) and, more generally, only three kinds of people in the world (racists, assimilationists, and antiracists). The casual voice is inviting if sometimes glib (comparing owning slaves to owning fancy sneakers, for example), but the joyful epater-ing of la bourgeoisie (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education is "actually a pretty racist idea") offers lots to think and talk about. With source notes, an index, and a suggested reading list (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry). Roger Sutton

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from January 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up-Reynolds's adaptation of Kendi's National Book Award-winning title teaches readers to think critically about racism and antiracism in the United States and the Western world. Within short chapters and a chronological format, the authors discuss specific people and/or historical events. Those selected examples are used to expand upon broader themes. There are no shallow representations of the men and women profiled in this book. The authors argue that people fit into three categories, some transitioning from one category to another: segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists. The actions of President Thomas Jefferson, Cotton Mather, W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., Angela Davis, and President Barack Obama, among other U.S. presidents, citizens, and organized movements, are evaluated in relation to these categories. The varying text and sentence sizes, and the occasional font changes, effectively guide readers through the content. The tone of the writing varies from provocative to funny to gentle. Due to the work not being a straight narrative account, some passages may require readers to seek further information to fully understand the context. A recommended reading list features older and contemporary adult and young adult fiction and nonfiction titles. VERDICT Reynolds and Kendi eloquently challenge the common narrative attached to U.S. history. This adaptation, like the 2016 adult title, will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact. Highly recommended for libraries serving middle and high school students.-Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.