Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
Illustrator
Duncan Tonatiuh
Publisher
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication Year
2014
ISBN
9781419710544
Pages
40 pages
Genre
nonfiction
Format
picture book
Item Type
Nonfiction
Annotation
Years before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez, an eight-year-old girl of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, played an instrumental role in Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark desegregation case of 1946 in California.
Grade Level
K-3
Lexile Measure
AD870L
Diversity Topics
Racial Diversity; Race discrimination; racism; prejudice; segregation
Main Character
female child
Race/Ethnicities
Latinx (Mexican American; Puerto Rican)
Family Formation
mother and father
Awards
Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, 2015, Winner
Carter G. Woodson Book Award, 2015, Winner, Elementary Level
Cybils Awards, 2014, Finalist, Non-Fiction Young Adult
Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award, 2014, Gold
Friends of Children and Literature (FOCAL) Award, 2015, Winner
International Latino Book Award, 2015, 1st Place, Best Children's Picture Book (English)
Jane Addams Children's Book Award, 2015, Winner
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2015, Honor Book, Non Fiction
Pura Belpre Award, 2015, Winner, Narrative
Tom's Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, 2015, Winner
Towner Award, 2016, Nominee, Grades 2-6
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2015, Honor
Keywords
school integration; Hispanic Americans; Civil Rights movements; court; lawsuit; petition; school discrimination
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Tonatiuh, Duncan, "Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation" (2014). Diverse Families. 757.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/757