Great source when teaching history, allows for intergration with smaller kids. Allows for you to go page by page and pause and explain the important moments in the speech. Pictures are great.

A beautiful picture book that starts with a short history of Kennedy's life. It turns to his presidency in regard to civil rights that had him make his antidiscrimination and set the stage for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At the end of this book, it reminds us that "you can speak up, to act and make history." There is a bibliography and source notes. There is also a description of the people that are also in this book.

I enjoyed reading this book as it reminded me of what was happening in our country at that time. It is so easy to forget that period. It's also a great way not only for kids to read this book but adults too!

JFK's words are brought to life with exquisite illustrations. A must for classrooms where U.S. history, or merely the Civil Rights movement, is taught.

I thought that this was a well written book that was well illustrated. It is one that really should be available to all ages to read as they can learn a lot from what was stated at the time and obviously its also a massive part of US history.

'A Time to Act: John F. Kennedy's Big Speech' by Shana Corey with art by R. Gregory Christie is a picture book for younger readers which deals with an important time and an important speech. It's a book that inspires us to keep working for change.

The focal character of the book is John F. Kennedy. The focal issue is his relationship with the civil rights movement. What I like is that this book shows what a good person President Kennedy was, but it also shows how he had trouble acting on this particular issue. I appreciate that it does not disrespect the man because of this. It shows what he did accomplish, then gives some of the speech he made when he finally made up his mind.

The book is full of really nice painted pictures. There is an author's note at the end that is quite good. There is a short paragraph about some of the other people in the book. There is a bibliography and a suggested reading list. I enjoyed reading this book and I really appreciated the author's approach to the subject matter.

I received a review copy of this ebook from North South Books Inc. and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Incredibly inspirational and moving; I felt moved by the words and the pictures alike.

"And so now it's your turn, to choose YOUR course, to speak up, to act, to move the world forward-to make history." A Time To Act is an incredibly powerful read, a reminder of the challenges behind us and encouragement for the challenges in front of us. This book defines courage and showcases the power of taking a stand.

This biography of John F. Kennedy, is succinct and zeros in on his civil rights promises and activity once elected 35th president of the United States. It mentions his book "Profiles in Courage" where he wrote about leaders standing by their beliefs, yet he was reluctant to go against the people in Congress who were against Civil Rights for the black population. He finally made the decision to pursue the Civil Rights laws when he saw the violence perpetrated on the children and young people who were willing to stand up for their rights. He worked with Dr. Martin Luther King to draft Civil Rights Legislation. He and his brother boycotted clubs that did not allow blacks and he had more blacks working and visiting the White House than other president before him. Tragically, he was assassinated before the legislation was passed, but his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson pursued it. The book is simple in the facts and uses two of his speeches as a call to action. One quote from the book that hit a chord with me was, “History isn’t a straight line.” Everything we do is two steps forward and one step back. We are still not where we need to be on civil rights, but it is better than it was when JFK became president. We also see other things that happened and where we are now as a result of decisions and statements made by JFK while he was running and while he was president, such as space exploration, the Peace Corps and more. At the end of the book Shana Corey writes in her Author's Note why she wrote this book the way she did and gives a few more details about the achievements of JFK. I love the stylized watercolour illustrations in this book. This a great biography for schools to use when studying JFK, the civil rights issue, the space race and even art.

A bare-bones bio of the great president, zeroing in on his civil rights activity, for kids. Beautiful in its simplicity as well as its watercolor paintings. It might be a call to action for those far too young to know much about the Sixties but who might draw comparisons to the present-day tensions in this country.
For someone who’s as big a fan of counterfactuals as I am, throwing in the phrase “History isn’t a straight line” is pure catnip. In this case, had older brother Joe not died in WW2, it’s possible JFK would never have become president. Try to imagine life today without, for example, a moon landing.
In the beginning the author calls him out on not doing more to support civil rights, and as a bonus at the end she explains exactly why she felt the need to do this. Had it not been for this, the book might not have been as good, or at least complete.