Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, by Duncan Tonatiuh

Tonatiuh, D. (2014). Separate is never equal: Sylvia Mendez & her family's fight for desegregation. Abrams Books for Young Readers. 

When I think of the fight for desegregation in America, my mind goes to what I learned in history class, such as the Little Rock Nine and Ruby Bridges. The book, Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation proves that this fight was much more diverse than I had ever realized. Duncan Tonaituh tells the story in a narrative format with illustrations throughout, creating an effective and informative book that reads more like a picture book than a work of nonfiction. The author is Mexican himself, and has written and illustrated several other books for children. However, it appears these are his only qualifications for writing such a book. The information on the front flap indicates that Tonatiuh did extensive research for this book, including research through court documents and an interview with Syliva Mendez herself. Therefore, there is little reason to doubt that this book is well researched and factual. The scope of this book is just right, discussing Sylvia Mendez’s story specifically. While it mainly relies on factual accounts of the events, it also contains the thoughts and feelings that Sylvia Mendez experienced throughout the events that led to the trial. This gives the book a more personable side. The narrative format is very effective at making it easy to follow. There are, however, few reference aids in this book. The narrative, picture book style means that there are no chapters, but there is a glossary, authors note, bibliography and index in the back, on the last few pages. The glossary in particular is helpful, as children may not understand much of the language that is used in the court scenes. However, the glossary clears this up nicely. This book is also very aesthetically appealing. Tonatiuh uses a simplistic but stylized illustration style, which is well suited to the book. Each scene is illustrated and laid out clearly. There are no captions to any of the drawings. The typeface is a legible and appealing size, allowing for a wide range of ages in the readers.