Coretta Scott King

This entry in the Women Who Broke the Rules series highlights Coretta Scott King and the rules she broke the racist laws that once kept blacks and whites strictly apart. Although it's impossible to talk about her without mentioning her iconic husband, Krull makes sure Coretta remains front and center. Beginning with her love of music and her education in Boston, where she met Martin Luther King Jr., Krull presents Coretta's life in an inspiring and honest way, including such details as Coretta omitting the word obey from her marriage vows and exhibiting strength in the face of hatred and prejudice. The chapters are short and packed with plenty of information in an engaging, conversational tone, and Freeman's expressive full-color illustrations do a great job of portraying Coretta in a wide variety of moments in her life, including the historic March on Washington. This slim volume is packed with honest, accurate information and interesting tidbits about an important woman, and it would be a welcome addition to both school and public libraries.--Linsenmeyer, Erin Copyright 2015 Booklist

Gr 2-5-Krull continues her series of trailblazing women. Presenting a fresh view and focusing on these individuals' determination and resulting achievements, the author adroitly tells their stories from birth to death. In Coretta Scott King, she emphasizes the woman's lifelong quest for equality and is candid, letting readers know that the civil rights leader and her husband disagreed on women's rights. The more difficult aspects of King's life, including a bombing at her home and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., are deftly presented. More informative than Ntozake Shange's Coretta Scott (HarperCollins, 2011) and more fluid than Melody S. Mis's Meet Coretta Scott King (Powerkids Pr., 2008), this book is an excellent introduction to the activist. In Mary Todd Lincoln, Lincoln is portrayed as a clever woman who used her intelligence to promote herself and her husband. Neither opposition from her family regarding her marriage nor the contempt she suffered from Abraham Lincoln's cabinet daunted her, as Krull makes clear. Despite the upbeat, positive tone, the author does not shy from the less pleasant aspects of Lincoln's life, including her arguments with her husband while she was redecorating the White House and her enforced confinement in a mental institution by Robert Todd Lincoln (from which she neatly managed her own release). Even if there were more titles about Mary Todd Lincoln for this grade range, this volume would still rank highly. Appropriate illustrations complement both texts. VERDICT Strong additions to biography collections.-Margaret Nunes, Gwinnett County Public Library, GA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An admiring portrait of a gifted singer who didn't exactly stand back when her illustrious husband stepped on to the public stage. As Krull puts it, Coretta Scott didn't just break rules, she broke Rulestaking stands against racist laws and practices, yes, but also refusing to teach at an all-black school after being turned down at an all-white one, removing the word "obey" from her wedding vows, and rejecting her husband's view that a woman's place was in the home. She continued his work after his death, but before that, she led him into opposing the Vietnam War and "broadened his scope" to include many human rights issues. She had a voice "like a clear and powerful liquid," and, according to her sister, as a child she had "an uncontrollable temper." Similarly, in the co-published Mary Todd Lincoln (illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley), Lincoln's future wife is introduced as a demanding, fiercely intelligent "drama queen" who went on to be dubbed "Lady President" by her husband and "hellcat" by one of his male secretaries. In both volumes the illustrators ably depict their subjects from childhood on with features both recognizable and expressive. Foibles and tragedies receive due acknowledgement, but readers should come away impressed by her uncommon independence of spirit and opinion. (source and reading lists, indexes) (Biography. 9-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.