*Review* Someday is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

 

Genre: Children's 6-9 years

Published: August 7, 2018

Pages: 36

More than a year before the Greensboro sit-ins, a teacher named Clara Luper led a group of young people to protest the segregated Katz Drug Store by sitting at its lunch counter. With simple, elegant art, Someday Is Now tells the inspirational story of this unsung hero of the Civil Rights Movement.

As a child, Clara Luper saw how segregation affected her life. When she grew up, Clara led the movement to desegregate Oklahoma stores and restaurants that were closed to African Americans. With courage and conviction, she led young people to “do what had to be done.” Perfect for early elementary age kids in encouraging them to do what is right and stand up for what is right, even at great cost, this is a powerful story about the power of nonviolent activism.

Someday Is Nowchallenges young people to ask how they will stand up against something they know is wrong. Kids are inspired to follow the lessons of bravery taught by civil rights pioneers like Clara Luper.

This moving title includes additional information on Clara Luper’s extraordinary life, her lessons of nonviolent resistance, and a glossary of key civil rights people and terms.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

Prior to this book, I knew nothing about the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma. Considering the fact that Clara Luper's student led sit-ins occurred before the Montgomery sit-ins that I did learn about, briefly, in school, it seems weird to me that mention of them wasn't even like a short footnote for that learning. Reading this book really helped bring home for me just how recent the Civil Rights movement was because it gave me some more personal reference points. For instance, at least one of the children that participated in the sit-ins with Mrs. Luper was at most a year older than my dad. And Mrs. Luper was still alive when my daughter was born. 

The details in this book were really easy to understand, it was very simple language used for the most part so children can understand the story. It also felt more personal, so hopefully it sticks better than memorizing facts for school can, because that is important too. I know it's going to stick with me better at least. 

The illustrations were something. There were definitely style choices that are very different from the children's books I've been reading lately and so they kind of threw me off. I think they did do a good job of showing the way black children were treated differently than white children. 

Overall I give this book 4.87 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is the author of several children’s books, including Operation Sisterhood, It Doesn't Take A Genius, 8th Grade Superzero, Two Naomis, co-authored with Audrey Vernick, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, Saving Earth: Climate Change and the Fight for Our Future, Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow, and the picture books Someday Is Now and Mae Makes A Way. She is a member of the Brown Bookshelf, and editor of the We Need Diverse Books anthology The Hero Next Door. Olugbemisola lives with her family in New York City where she writes, makes things, and needs to get more sleep.

Please visit with her anytime on IG @olugbemisolarhudayperkovich and at http://olugbemisolabooks.com for updates and more. Thank you for reading!