Zora!: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston - Hardcover

Dennis Brindell Fradin was the author of many books for young readers, including the well-received Samuel Adams: The Father of American Independence, and, with coauthor and wife Judith Bloom Fradin, Ida B. Wells: Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. 

Gr 5-8-This biography begins with Hurston as a middle-aged woman. Working as a maid to make ends meet, she is "found out" and spins tales about both her age and the reasons behind her domestic servitude. This well-chosen episode succinctly captures the legendary author's colorful spirit-her mischievous penchant for lying about her age and ever cash-poor status, but undying desire to write and publish. These themes are threaded throughout the narrative, from her early childhood in all-black Eatonville, FL, through her tumultuous personal and professional life, to her death in near obscurity. The writing is straightforward and engaging, and the numerous archival photographs and reproductions add interest and clarification. While many of Hurston's titles have been reissued in recent years, there have been few biographies for children. The Fradins' accessible style and incorporation of recent scholarship will prove a major selling point where the author is studied.-Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.