It has been fifty years since the Freedom Summer of 1964, a landmark civil rights project in Mississippi during which dozens of grassroots organizations banded together to help register black citizens to vote and fight Jim Crow laws. Several new books published this year explore the time period and offer rich primary source accounts. Pair Deborah Wiles’s documentary novel with Susan Goldman Rubin’s richly researched nonfiction title for an affecting and inspiring glimpse into this key moment in American history.

WILES, Deborah. Revolution. 544p. (The Sixties Trilogy: Bk. 2). Scholastic. May 2014. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9780545106078.

Gr 5-8 –In Wiles’s second installment of the trilogy, readers are offered two alternate viewpoints from very different worlds within the same Greenwood, Mississippi town during the tumultuous Freedom Summer of 1964. Sunny, a 12-year-old white girl, is worried about reports of “invaders” descending upon the sleepy Southern enclave and causing trouble. Meanwhile, Raymond, a black boy from Baptist Town (known among the white citizens as “Colored Town”), is becoming increasingly aware of all the places (especially the public pool and Leflore’s theater) he is barred from attending due to Jim Crow laws. As Sunny’s worldview is suddenly expanded as she begins to learn more about the sinister underbelly of her seemingly perfect town, her story intersects with Raymond’s. Among the cadre of brave young volunteers working to register black Mississippians to vote—a mix of white and black members of various civil rights associations—is Jo Ellen, the older sister from Countdown (Scholastic, 2010). As in the first book, song lyrics, biblical verses, photographs, speeches, essays, and other ephemera immerse readers in one of the most important—and dangerous—moments during the Civil Rights Movement. While Sunny’s experiences receive a slightly deeper focus than Raymond’s, readers are offered a window into each community and will see both characters change and grow over the course of the summer. Inclusion of primary source materials, including the text of a real and vile pamphlet created by KKK members, does not shy away from the reality and hurtful language used by bigots during this time period. For those looking to extend the story with a full-sensory experience, the author has compiled YouTube clips of each song referenced in the book on a Pinterest board (http://ow.ly/vBGTc). With elements of family drama and coming-of-age themes that mirror the larger sociopolitical backdrop, Revolution is a book that lingers long after the last page.–Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Rubin, Susan Goldman. Freedom Summer: The 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi. 128p. appendix. bibliog. chron. ebook available. index. maps. notes. photos. reprods. websites. Holiday House. May 2014. Tr $18.95. ISBN 9780823429202. LC 2013020208.

Gr 9 Up –Fifty years after the Freedom Summer murders, this meticulously researched, compellingly told account covers an incredible moment in history. Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney were three young civil rights workers who decided to work for the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) to confront bigotry in Mississippi and register African Americans to vote. They left for Meridian, accompanied by student volunteers from across the United States, (where only 6.4 percent of eligible African American voters were registered.) Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney were killed by Klansmen after being arrested. Their deaths deepened the conviction of the others and served to engender incredible strides in the forward momentum of the civil rights movement. This work gives a real sense of the time and place, the issues and the opposing sides, and the impact on the nation. Including myriad period photos and drawings, facsimiles of reports and records, meticulous source notes, an extensive bibliography, picture credits, and an extensive index, this title is the epitome of excellent historical reporting, with the human element never forgotten.–Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA