Betty Before X

Betty Before X

Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Publication Year

2018

ISBN

9780374306106

Pages

256 pages

Genre

historical

Format

chapter book

Item Type

Fiction

Annotation

Raised by her aunt until she is six, Betty, who will later marry Malcolm X, joins her mother and stepfamily in 1940s Detroit, where she learns about the civil rights movement.

Grade Level

3-5; 6-8

Lexile Measure

810L

Diversity Topics

Family Relationships; Racial Diversity; Kinship care; Step parent; Family member death; Race discrimination; aunt raising niece; step father; step siblings; death of an aunt; racism; prejudice

Main Character

female child

Race/Ethnicities

Black

Family Formation

mother and step father; aunt

Awards

Cybils Awards, 2018, Nominee, Middle Grade Fiction
Best Books for Kids, 2018
Choices, 2019 Children's Fiction
Kirkus Book Review Stars, 2017
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2019 Grades 6-8

Keywords

Detroit, Michigan; Malcolm X; civil rights movement; lynching; church; church choir; activists; volunteering; Jim Crow

Diversity Impact

direct

Betty Before X

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