Richard Wright and the Library Card

Richard Wright and the Library Card is a fictionalized account of a scene from Wright’s life. As a seventeen-year-old black male living in Memphesis, Tennessee in the 1920s, Richard Wright did not have access to the same opportunities—such as borrowing books from the library—as his white counterparts. Convinced that education was his ticket to freedom, Wright desperately wanted to gain access, and with the aid of a white co-worker he was able to do just that. Christie’s impressionistic illustrations in acrylic and colored pencil enhance Miller’s portrayal of this young man’s struggle to acquire knowledge in the face of segregation. Even though this depiction is not strictly accurate, it captures the spirit of the encounter. Moreover, this picturebook would pair nicely with Wright’s autobiography, Black Boy, and the discrepancies can fuel a discussion regarding writer’s craft.

Richard Wright and the Library Card by William Miller; illus. by Gregory Christie
Primary
Lee & Low Books, Inc.
32 pp.
Published 1997
ISBN 978-1880000571
$15.95

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