This book is inspirational and a must read. This book told among monologue voices from families back in the 1920’s through the 1960’s. The monologue is told by 3 voices who are the main characters in this book... Loretta (Retta), Roland (Roly), and Aggie B. All the characters share their own recollections of what the have experienced while growing up during the time of sharecroppers, discrimination, walking on egg shells, and fighting for the right to vote. All I can say is that when you read this book you must read it with conviction, attitude, feeling, and friends. I enjoyed every single minute reading this book because it also makes me remember how my family was down south in a small town in Moultrie, Georgia and how they were also sharecroppers working in the hot sun to make ends meet and still was ripped off because the pay was ridiculous. Also they worked their butts off to own their own land then soon enough someone ends up taking it away due to jealousy and hate. Once again this book is a must read and I recommend it to everyone to read it.

I read this a while ago and this one stays with you. It reminds me of Nikki Grimes memoir. Beautifully written and memorable.

Told from three generations perspectives. Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B. are part of the Little family. This is there experiences each from there own eyes.

Loretta is the youngest of her siblings and her mother died shortly after she was born. Her father works in the cotton field during the Jim Crow era. They have struggles like most black people in Mississippi at this time. She loves school and devours the knowledge thrust upon her until she is no longer able to go because she is needed at home.

Roly is adopted into the Little family by the sisters. They raise him up and are good to him. He too ends up working the fields. He marries and they have little baby Aggie B.

Aggie B. is a smart girl like Loretta. She is determined to help her people during this time in the civil rights movements.

This is a great book that looks at life through the eyes of three children throughout the civil rights movement. This is after slavery is abolished but during the Jim Crow laws and civil rights movements of Martin Luther King.

I listened to the audio book of this from my library the second time around. I was originally given this as an eARC by NetGalley. I read it but apparently never posted a review for it. I thought I had but here we are.

I think they did a great job with this audio book narration.

This would be a great book to read during lessons on these issues for classroom reading or homeschool. It was written well and has enough facts in it to help grow some knowledge while being engaging enough for children to enjoy without become I guess bored of dry facts. Not a replacement for history lessons but a great supplement to go along with it.

I really enjoyed this immersive middle grade book. The writing/storytelling is presented as three different monologues. Their characterization and speech is so well done. I learned so much about sharecroppers. I loved the images and artwork.

The subject matter reminded me a lot of one of my favorite books/series Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I think this would be an excellent book to read alongside the series - it is very fresh and presents a hard history in a good way for kids.

Great for middle readers. Very visual. Like watching a stage play. An emotional story that made me tear up a few times.

What a unique concept to tell the story using 3 narrators. I think this book would have many uses in the classroom.

Besides read aloud I can’t imagine using this book in another capacity in my classroom at the time being. Loretta Little Looks Back was a good story and I would recommend this book to my older students.

Loretta, Roly, and Aggie were three generations of a Black family who lived in the American south in the early 20th century. They each had different perspectives on their lives, which they tell in their monologues in each part of this book. Loretta lived with her father and two sisters, on a farm where they picked cotton. They weren’t officially slaves, but they were often treated as if they were. One day, Loretta and her sisters found a baby in a field, who became their brother Roly. During Roly’s childhood, they were able to buy their own piece of land. When Roly got older, he married and had a daughter named Aggie. His wife left when Aggie was a newborn, leaving Aggie in the care of Roly and Loretta. Aggie grew up in the 1960s, so she had a completely different perspective on the world than her older relatives.

Most of the stories that I’ve read about slaves or their ancestors have been for adults, so I loved that this one was for children. There were some tough scenes, such as when Loretta’s father was insulted by his boss or when their farm was attacked just because they were Black. These are important parts of history that need to be taught to everyone.

Even though these three storytellers were from the same family, they had different perspectives on the world. Loretta had seen her father suffer, and she had suffered herself while picking cotton. Roly was just a few years younger than her but he had a different upbringing. He had a more comfortable life, looking after the animals on their farm, and he wasn’t interested in moving higher in the world. Loretta was inspired by the civil rights movement of the 60s and wanted to make a change in the world. Though they were from the same family and lived in the same place, the time period that they were living in changed the way they viewed the world.

This is a beautiful and important children’s book.

Thank you Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Wunderkind PR for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It is one of those books that you never knew that you needed until you read it as an adult. There is so much discussion about the journey that Black people made from sharecropping up to the Jim Crow Era. While I won't go too in-depth into my review for this book (there will be a link to my full vlog on Youtube), I will say that this is a great book to share will middle grade readers. Quite often history courses in the United States leave out information related to the Black experience in America. This book serves as one of those books that assists in filling the gaps. Told from three perspectives, it showcases the hardships and triumphs that the Black community faced over that expanse of time. The illustrations are beautiful and well-worth checking out. If you've never heard of this book here's the link to my vlog where you can learn more about it: https://youtu.be/mKfZoaQ3D7s

The book is considered a 'monologue novel,' where the form is very much a dramatic style. Because of this, I was easily able to envision the different moments throughout the book. It's an interesting way to tell a generational story that definitely felt like a passage of time was happening as we went from family member to family member. As both a thespian and a writer (and even a reader), I can always appreciate when theatrical stylistic choices are made within a book and add to the intentionality of the novel. There were several times throughout this novel where I thought to myself 'wow, directing this would be awesome,' and that rarely ever happens to me. The writing was beautiful but still accessible for the target audience. There were quite a few moments where lyrical and poetic. These moments stood as bridge passages welcoming us into a new person's narrative or bidding us farewell. I found myself rereading certain passages to better absorb and appreciate the information.

This is one of those stories I wish had been around when I was in elementary school because I know I would've loved it back then.

Welcome to another book review! Thank you to hearourvoicestours and the publisher for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of Loretta Little Looks Back. This book is a glimpse into African American history from share-cropping to the civil rights movement. The three separate stories weave themselves into a journey that’s breathtaking.

I loved the writing style of this book. Oral storytelling is a significant part of Black history. It’s how our stories were passed down from generation to generation. This book exemplified that tradition. Each piece of the story reads as of its being told to you by a family member. The other striking part of the book is that each character’s feelings and experiences leap off the page. The racism, the struggles, the triumphs, they are all described so richly that it’s like you’re experiencing them for yourself. It makes for an emotional, but amazing read. This is a story you won’t want to miss. I can’t forget about the illustrations! They were so cute. Honestly, I think I’m order to appreciate the story, you have to read it for yourself.

Andrea Davis Pinkney (Author) Brian Pinkney (Artist)
“Right here, I′m sharing the honest-to-goodness. Me, Loretta. I look back first. Then there come more Littles. Each of us with our own go-tell-it, sharing how it was. Where our feet walked. What-all happened. And the road we′re going on, come tomorrow. After we′re through, it′ll be your turn to speak on what needs to be done for yourself and others when a new day dawns.” —Loretta

Thus begins this heartwarming, beautifully written narrative of the life of the Little Family. The Pinkneys, husband and wife, are famous for working together in this fashion: one writes, the other illustrates, and the results are always important.

This is the story of Loretta, of Roly, of Aggie B., of how they earned their right to vote.

“When seeds are nurtured, they grows into gifts. It′s that simple. We are seeds, if we choose to be.” —Roly

Three generations. Each speaking as in front of an audience (and I would love to see the theatrical adaptation of this tale), with monologues that weave as all our family narratives do, from the eyes of the person who lived them. The setting begins in cotton field in 1927 and ends at the presidential election of 1968. Of course, the journey from here to there is what matters, and their unique voices.

“The Littles are a family of passed-down, go-tell-it stories. From the time I was old enough to speak and repeat, I have known we are people who′ve made our way by boxing cotton and looking past the uncertainty of can′t see. We say what we mean, mean what we say, but we don′t say it mean. We′re courteous, but truthful.” —Aggie B.

In a mix of first-person narratives, spoken-word poems, folk myths, gospel rhythms, and blues influences, this telling shares a story that illuminates the dignity of sharecroppers in the rural South. It comes from oral tradition, but these monologues are something else entirely. Each chapter shows who will speak in a setting that seems ready for the theater: a sunset, the cotton field, or their home walls. And each memory is as distinct as the voice that tells it.

I had no idea voting was made so hard, if owning their land was made almost impossible, voting had surrealistic notions: every black folk who wanted to vote in the South had to pass an exam. A very complicated one, that relied on their inability to read and write and was buried in legal lingo; as a matter of course, the white voters didn’t need to pass said exam. The voter registration tests questions that appear in the story are a composite drawn from actual tests administered to African Americans in various southern states such as Mississippi and Louisiana.

“With a black sky folding in and around us, I remembered that you can only see stars when the sky is darkest. That was the tinkle that kept me going. If Cassius and Wilma and Aunt ′Retta and my pa could keep on, so could I. They were stars in this darkness, lighting my way.” —Loretta

Despite all the odds, the Littles knew a lot about hardship, and knew how to overcome it. Loretta guides her aunt through the process and achieves their voter registration. It took three generations and one long struggle, but to be free, to own their land, to have a say in it, was worth the tale.

Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It is on sale since September 29, 2020.

Product Details
Price: $17.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: September 29, 2020
Pages: 224
Language: English
Type: Hardcover
EAN/UPC: 9780316536776

BISAC Categories: People & Places – United States – African-American Family – Multigenerational. Historical – United States – Civil War Period (1850-1877)

I was so excited to be able to review this book because it's by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney and I've only had the chance to read one other of their books before.

Loretta Little Looks Back is a collection of monologue vignettes that follows three generations of a family in Mississippi. The monologues take place from 1927-1968 and weave real historical events and people into them. The story begins with Loretta, the youngest of three children in a sharecropping family. From Loretta's story we move into Roly's. Roly was found by Loretta and her sisters one night in a field, left by his mother in the hopes that someone who could take care of him would find him. We hear from Roly as he grows up and falls in love, and then we follow Aggie B., Roly's daughter. Aggie grows up during the Civil Rights era, so we see the struggles of that time including the fight for voting rights and access to voting through her narrative.

Pinkney intentionally wrote this book in a way that makes it conducive to reading out loud, but it's well suited to read quietly to oneself as well. The way the narrative is written, through dramatic monologues, really makes the characters feel alive (the author notes that she pulled language and speech patterns "from interviews, written accounts, broadcasts, and live performances" which provides "the cadence for the inflections of the narratives") and moves the reader through the story. I found it so easy to keep reading and wanted to go immediately from the end of one vignette to the beginning of the next.

A large range of topics are seen through the monologues of the three main characters, including and going beyond, sharecropping, voter suppression including violence, medical racism, Jim Crow and segregation, violence of various kinds by both regular white people and by the police.

This is a difficult read at times because it touches on a lot of traumatic racist experiences that the characters directly experience as well as events that they witness around them. However, it IS written with a child audience in mind so it is still appropriate for children to read. Overall, a great piece of historical fiction. I really loved the format the story was told in. I think this would be a good one to read with students in the classroom or children at home.

The eARC didn't have the final versions of the artwork, but from what was already included in this version, I can tell that the finished book will be beautiful once it's filled with all the illustrations.

Andrea Davis and Brian Pinkney have spun a heartfelt historical fiction novel, spanning three generations of Black America. In both form and content, the novel pays homage to storytelling and its importance to Black culture. Andrea Davis’ choice to write each character’s section as monologues (or as Loretta says, “go-tell-its”) is a clear nod to Black America’s robust oral traditions. The ease of the prose feels more like a warm conversation with an auntie than your average reading experience.

Through Loretta’s point-of-view, we witness the emasculation and disrespect her father endures from white landowners. There’s something particularly haunting about viewing injustice through the eyes of a child. In many ways, Loretta reminds me of Cassie Logan from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. The mixture of innocence and despair strikes the perfect tone for educating young readers about sharecropping.

Roly speaks to the ambivalence of many Black Southerners. I often wonder how I can both love the South and hate its oppressive history, which hardly ever stays in the past. While Roly despises his people’s oppressors, he still feels a deep love for “my Magnolia state’s cherry-bark trees…night frogs that sing…autumn mornings’ piecrust skies…and red carpet roses.” His claiming of Mississippi, that “my,” houses a powerful message for Black Southerners like myself.

Aggie B.’s passion for voters’ rights truly resonated with me. Her section fits neatly into the canon of Civil Rights media and makes an excellent companion read for John Lewis’ March and Ava DuVernay’s Selma. Aggie B. represents our inspiring forebears who fought for our civil rights, and we are all indebted to these brave Black Americans for bettering our country.

Both my grandparents on my mother’s side grew up as sharecroppers until they moved up North for a life in the city. They often spoke of the good parts of their childhood to me, the fresh fruit and vegetables always available to them, and the time they spent enjoying the outdoors. My mother would fill me in on the difficult parts of their childhood, parts that included horrible discrimination, lack of educational opportunity, poverty, sickness, and family difficulties. When I saw that a tour for this book was being offered, I knew I wanted to read it. I wanted to read about what other families during this time were going through, hoping to be able to learn more about the time period they grew up in. Loretta Little Looks Back tells the story of this version of the South through the eyes of three different people.

Loretta’s story was the first one told, and I believe was one of the hardest to read. She had a lot going for her, but between illness and the repercussions of the poisonous pesticides being sprayed in the field, nearly everything was taken from her. Her life wasn’t over, but she had extra struggles to deal with as she continued to live on the farm. She also had the responsibility of taking care of young Roly as the youngest sister who wasn’t able to find much other work outside the fields/garden. I felt the despair that her character felt as her own body betrayed her, and wondered how many others had stories just like hers.

Roly never had a mother and was found in one of the fields one night by Loretta and her sisters. His story is one of trying to find a family and trying to figure out the world around him. His connection with the Earth and the outdoors was amazing to read and lead to some of my favorite parts of the whole story. But his story was also one of loss, as black families in the Jim Crow South were never allowed to have even thought of being able to get out of the sharecropping relationship without being brought back down.

Aggie’s story was the most recent and included a lot of information about the Civil Rights movement. Aggie is Roly’s child, and she grows up also without a mother. But her father never leaves her and wants to protect her as much as possible. But Aggie wants better for her and her family in Mississippi. She wants them to be protected and to be able to vote so they don’t have to constantly live in poverty. I think that Aggie was my favorite character, as she was so strong and determined. The other characters had pieces that I liked, but Aggie was the one that seemed the most relatable to me. Maybe because I am used to the modern Black American life, the life that people like Aggie helped create for my generation.

This book flows so smoothly from one chapter to the next, I couldn’t stop reading it once I started. I finished the book in 2 nights, keeping me up a bit longer than I had planned for in trying to finish the novel. The mixture of poetry and songs within the chapter kept me hooked and drew me into the world of the characters even more. I can’t wait to read another book by this author, this one was a beautiful read.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a historical fiction novel to read.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 books.

There’s history in this book for me. The words, on each page, flooded memories of my Grandmother and her stories as a kid, growing up in Ky.
She would often tell me how her Aunts/ Uncles would work the land and she would sit on the porch with the Wife of the Land Owner drinking CoCa Cola while the Wife of the land owner ate cold biscuits.
From Sheep Nanny Tea, Stern warnings from her Aunt NOT to eat the biscuits specially made or the land owners wife, to stories of cured Country Ham, Loretta Little Filled my home with the loving memories of my Granny, Smells of Peppermint, Freshly brewed Coffee, and Love!
This is a novel of hope coming at a time where we all need to Dream of Equality no matter the oppressive monster that lingers in front of us all.

“Loretta knows – don’t look down when you’re looking back.
And don’t never back down when it’s time to meet memories face-on.
Loretta’s eyes, front. Her gaze, steady.
She is ready.
Prepared to tell it.”

When I tell you that this book had an impact on my soul, y’all. I went into this expecting an interesting middle grade story about sharecropping and the Civil Rights Movement. Don’t get me wrong… this is what Loretta Little Looks Back delivers, but in such a poignant and impactful way that I was left a little bit shook.

This is the story of three generations of the same family. We start with Loretta Little, growing up on a farm where her family are sharecroppers. We then move on to Loretta’s adopted brother, Rollins Little, who has a way with plants. Lastly, we get to see the story of Aggie B. Little, Rollins daughter who is coming of age when the Civil Rights Movement is gaining traction. All of their stories interweave into a gripping tale about the life and struggles of Black sharecroppers in the rural South.

“Some say, this what they call oration. I call it truth-talking. Standing up to speak on what-all I remember. Recollecting.”

My favorite aspect of this book has to be how it is presented. It is told in a monologue style that completely wraps you up in the story as it’s being related. I want someone to make this a play because I would take my family to see it in a heartbeat! The narration flows down the family line and each voice we encountered is unique and powerful. You feel Loretta’s rage when her father is cheated out of pay he rightfully earned. You feel Rollins slowly getting beaten down by a system that is stacked against him. You feel Aggie’s yearning to do, to be, to make not only her life better, but those of all the Black folks living under Jim Crow. This story has been told before, but the style in which it is told makes it hit on a different level.

“To me, Clem Parker might as well have been pinching Daddy every time he came ahead with his Giddyuuup nonsense. A pinch doesn’t hurt that bad once, or twice even. But when somebody keeps nipping you over and over, it starts to eat at your skin. When the pinch comes with a smug smile, the sting brings more pain.”

I also loved the frank look at how deeply racism can affect people in this book. The above quote hit me hard because it doesn’t just focus on the overtly racist actions of people, it talks about how microaggressions are designed to wear you down. The entire book rings with truths that are phrased in excellent ways to make it understandable for the younger age group the story targets. Not easier, mind you. Reading about racism shouldn’t be easy. But understandable.

“People say to don’t let a White person know how truly smart you are, else they’ll take it out badly on you.
But that’s negativity at work, making you believe not to believe in your own abilities. Since I do how I do, I was not going to hide none of it.”

Though we’re talking on some pretty bleak subject matter, though, this book as a beautiful current of stubborn perseverance and hope running through it. It’s a part of each of our main characters, Loretta, Rollins, and Aggie, in varying degrees and one of my favorite parts about all three of them. And can we talk about the characters?! I have never felt this attached to a set of fictional folks before. I dunno if it’s partly because my maiden last name is Little or that some of their stories make me think of stories my own father has told me (he grew up during the Jim Crow era), but I was just in awe of how layered and richly imagined they were. I found myself so attached to them and, not gonna lie, there was a certain part of this book that was really painful to read because of that attachment. See my trigger warning for graphic violence… But I also appreciate that the author doesn’t shy away from something that was a huge part of the fight for our rights.

"I tried to explain to Aunt ‘Retta that every test had different questions. That if we went to the courthouse again, there would be a new set of pages. Tried to tell her, too, that most of the questions were made-up and, no matter what, couldn’t be answered. Aunt ‘Retta wasn’t having it.
Said, ‘Well, smarty, here’s some questions for you. Are you a Little?’
I nodded.
Said, ‘Are we people who quit when asked to walk backwards, draw a line through stupidity, or vote standing on our heads?’
I giggled. Shook my head. Tossed a funny question back to Aunt ‘Retta.
Asked, ‘If Jim Crow dies, who succeeds?’
She and me answered together.
Said, ‘We do.'”

Speaking of the Civil Rights Movement, I think my favorite character to follow was Aggie B. because we get to see the movement as it was born. It’s so interesting and, not gonna lie, heartbreaking to see what Black people had to go through just to vote in the South. The phony tests, the poll taxes… all of these were things I knew about, but never get any less heated about when I encounter it in whatever context. This book does a phenomenal job of presenting these injustices to a young crowd in, again, a very accessible if not easy way. You feel Aggie’s frustrations, her pain, and her feelings of fierce triumph at any win, no matter how small. And, especially in today’s social climate, I appreciated the reminder that people bleed and fought for us to get where we are today. Am I tired of Black people having to bleed for basic rights? Hell yes I am. But this book still gives me hope for the future by taking a look at how far we’ve come.

Final thoughts: This book is the entire package. It’s told in a unique style, blending monologues, poems, and illustrations to fully captivate the reader. The characters feel like they could be people who actually lived, people who might be somewhere on your family tree if you happen to be Black. They are multifaceted with rich, strong voices that hook you in to their story. The looks at sharecropping, Jim Crow, and racism are frank. This book doesn’t shy away from the hardships, but it always leaves you feeling hopeful. Loretta Little Looks Back should not only be required reading for children, but for adults, as well! If you’re looking for a story to help talk about the history of racism in this country with a younger audience, I think this would be a smart choice.

Also, can someone make this a play now? Kthanks!

This is a middle grade book told in 3 voices chronicling the events in Jim Crow era spanning from 1940 to 1968. ⠀
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Here are my thoughts about this amazing book!:⠀

Reading Loretta Little's mistrust with the white doctor when he went to check on her was so relevant. Today, as Black people, this is the same mistrust we tend to feel, since unfortunately the medical field tends to fail us again and again. Especially our Black women. ⠀
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Reading the part about Emmet Till was hard. Especially because we still have to deal with horrible murders of our people and we get absoloutely no justice. A hard read but an important one.⠀
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The last section of this book talked a lot about voting and how our people fought for our right to vote. We must always exercise our right to vote, even when we feel despair and like our vote doesn't count/change anything. Our ancestors got beat, humiliated, and terrorized just so we could have the right to go to the polls and cast our votes. Voting season is upon us, so please, let's register! ⠀
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Thanks to Netgalley and HearourVoices for an opportunity to read and review this book!

This is a wonderful book that explores the Little family and their experiences as sharecroppers in rural Mississippi and their event all fight for voting rights. My full review and reflection is up on my blog