Betty Before X By Ilyasah Shabazz
Betty Before X By Ilyasah Shabazz Hardcover Betty Before X A powerful middle grade novel about the childhood activism of Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X’s wife, written by their daughter.In Detroit, 1945, eleven year old Betty’s house doesn’t quite feel like home. She believes her mother loves her, but she can’t shake the feeling that her mother doesn’t want her. Church helps those worries fade, if only for a little while. The singing, the preaching, the speeches from guest activists like Paul Robeson and Thurgood Marshall stir African Americans in her community to stand up for their rights. Betty quickly finds confidence and purpose in volunteering for the Housewives League, an organization that supports black owned businesses. Soon, the American civil rights icon we now know as Dr. Betty Shabazz is born.Collaborating with novelist Renée Watson, Ilyasah Shabazz illuminates four poignant years in her mother’s childhood, painting a beautiful and inspiring portrait of a girl overcoming the challenges of self acceptance and belonging that will resonate with young readers today. 5 stars because I don t entirely know how to rate it The first half was beautiful full of tenderness and humanity I loved it Loved it About halfway through though it morphs into a series of didactic adult conversations overheard by Betty before ending rather abruptly When all is said and done there s no real story arc to speak of The writing is approachable and this would probably be a fine introduction to the civil rights movement to a middle grade reader on the younger side but as a complete story or early biography it has me a bit stumped English SummaryBetty Dean age eleven moves up north to Detroit in the early 1940s to live with her mother after her Aunt Fannie Mae dies Betty s mother whom she calls Ollie Mae had Betty as a teenager and their relationship is distant Betty isn t quite old enough to understand why her mother tells her that she is ungrateful ornery and like her daddy bad to the core. Betty before x summary Fellow churchgoers Mr and Mrs Malloy take Betty in Mrs Malloy is a leader in the Housewives League and organization that boycotts businesses that don t hire black employees or treat customers fairly The goal is to as Betty and Mrs Malloy say Hurt them in their pocket AppealI liked the time and place of this story in part because it sets at least in my somewhat naive American history mind the beginnings of the civil rights movement and the forms of nonviolent protest to a different time and place Not to say that the Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott story isn t important but rather to acknowledge that others did this work too At one point in the story Betty thanks Mrs Peck founder of the Housewives League for her leadership as an example to all of us girls and even the boys Fannie Peck is the godmother of current day movements like grabyourwallet I also appreciate the brief conversations and complications of what I learned in school about race relations For example I always assumed that integration was universally desired by black Americans and it wasn t until I read Isabel Wilkerson s The Warmth of Other Suns that I realized that wasn t true Mr Malloy questions the outcomes of school integration in a conversation Betty overhears I m not sure what desgegrated schools are going to do for the Negro man Let s think about this what will happen to Negro teachers What will happen to our children who will be sitting next to white children for the first time with no one preparing them Why isn t anyone talking about white children integrating into Negro schools It s imposing the nothing that we are inferior and by having our children travel across town it s imposing the nation that white schools are superior Period details also make this piece stand out references to Billie Holiday Billy Eckstein Paul Robeson the Rose Meta House of Beauty Nadinola Bleaching Cream Issues with comprehensionThe title Most of my students don t know who Malcolm X is and I think some of them will take the title literally As in they might expect the letter X to play a role in the story Yes it s explained in the inside cover but will my students look there I am not sure I might need to contextualize author Ilyasah Shabazz Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz in my book talk. Betty before x summary Recommended forA lovely coming of age story that blends some family and friendship themes with a social protest backdrop There are some heavy topics woven in here lynchings police violence and riots but those topics are protected through the lens of cautious adults and somewhat naive children English Such a sweet and informative book about a time period I m not as familiar with as I d like to be A great take on historical fiction describing the early life of Betty Shabazz It s a great mix of transparent vulnerability and faith based positivity English Beautiful childhood story of an American hero Prior to this book I didn t know much about Dr Betty Shabazz other than the fact that she was married to and became the widow of Malcolm X when he was assassinated The Malcom X movie shared bits and pieces with the works but I ve always been interested in her backstory and to my knowledge this is the first time her formative years had been shared with such detail I typically steer clear of middle grade books because of how much I have to overlook to enjoy the story as an adult However this story was rich with historical information I had no idea had even occurred and really delved into what it must ve been like as an African American little girl living in the North during the Jim Crow Era I found the stories heartbreaking but also relatable and I do think it was written in a way that would be palpable for pre teens My only major annoyance was with the narrator of the audiobook I really think it would ve been better if a child had been selected as opposed to an adult since it was told from the perspective of an 11 14 year old Also emphasis was being placed on certain words that caused some of the dialogue to sound choppy I like to omit things like that from my rating because I can still sift through delivery to the intention of the text All of that said if you d like to learn about the foundational years of the cultural icon we know as Betty Shabazz I d suggest checking it out you won t be disappointed All said I d say the story was a resounding 5 star read English This book is incredible I highly recommend the audiobook but I need to own this book in physical format as well. Betty before xi in usa This was so good Listen I never heard of Betty Shabazz before so this book is my first introduction to her and her life I love how her story was told It was super engaging and so very interesting I truly need to learn about the woman that this wonderful kind and brave Betty became English 
Ilyasah Shabazz third daughter of Malcolm X is an activist producer motivational speaker and the author of the critically acclaimed Growing Up X and the picture book Malcolm Little The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X She lives in Westchester County New York. Betty before xa and p This book is a narrative on the life of Betty Shabazz s childhood This is the little girl who would grow up to be the wife of Malcom X and a community leader It is considered fiction because of the way the story is told but her daughter is one of the author s so the basic facts of Betty s life are true The book is a short quick read It s perfect for kids who love historical fiction or stories about complicated families and friendships I found it engaging and hard to book down English Up until reading this book I knew nothing about Betty Shabazz other than her name You could chalk that up to privilege or to my ignorance Anyway I am extremely grateful for the books that Ilyasah Shabazz the daughter of Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X has been writing I read her fictionalized biography of her father last year and now this one about her mother Betty Shabazz born in Georgia to a teenaged mother her paternal grandmother suspected she was being abused and removed her from the home giving Betty to her Aunt Fannie Mae to raise The aunt died when Betty was 7 and Betty was sent to Detroit to be reunited with her mother her mother s husband 3 half sisters and 2 step brothers For reasons only hinted at Betty s mother she calls her by her first name always Ollie Mae is very hard on her eldest daughter and Betty s struggle for her mother s love is a central theme in the story This book was an enlightening look at Detroit in the 1940s and the nascent Civil Rights Movement as well as an introduction to a really strong and influential woman who deserves to have far recognition I loved this book English This is a great overview of the childhood of Betty Shabazz a woman who would eventually become to the wife of Malcolm X This is fiction but Renee Watson worked with Ilyasah Shabazz one of Betty s daughters so the facts here are about as true as a recounting of history can be Presenting this as a story will definitely make this material palatable for younger readers which is fantastic This book breaches a lot of topics such as social justice segregation and privilege among other things This is an accessible way for young readers to broach these still relevant political issues. Betty before x chapter summary There s also some very informational material at the end of the book I really enjoyed Shabazz s author s note There she delves into how the book was researched and written and provides some context to some of the changes that Shabazz made when recounting her mother s life to better serve the story and its readers While it makes perfect sense for this novel to focus on Betty s childhood reading this made me wish that there was some kind of sequel planned that would tackle Betty s later years as a teen and young adult The seeds are sowed for the great things she would go on to do but I wanted to see those things first hand I don t mean for this to sound like a critique rather I want this to demonstrate how compelling this narrative was as it made me want I hope it does the same for younger readers and inspires them to seek to learn about not only Betty but the issues she dedicated her life to fighting against English I m always blown away by middle grade that can take really intense and often sad subjects and make them appropriate for children Like I wanted to cry pretty much the entire time but I also think it s such a good book for the age category especially if taught in a classroom English Here we get the story of Betty Shabazz as a girl long before she met Malcolm and had her six daughters and got her PhD and rocked our world and it was narrated by the author her daughter no less This book was for a younger crowd than a ya book I d say and yet it speaks about police brutality and lynchings and the death of loved ones and civil rights and child abuse in a way that younger kids can listen to The book is just a short chunk of time featuring Betty just living her extraordinary and ordinary life going to church buying shoes being refused service protesting violence and changing the world Heroes we ve got many I d also like to shoutout all of the history and context provided in the afterword for this book I ll share this one with my daughter when she s a bit older English
A powerful middle grade novel about the childhood activism of Betty Shabazz Malcolm X s wife written by their daughter. Betty Before xlk In Detroit 1945 eleven year old Betty s house doesn t quite feel like home She believes her mother loves her but she can t shake the feeling that her mother doesn t want her Church helps those worries fade if only for a little while The singing the preaching the speeches from guest activists like Paul Robeson and Thurgood Marshall stir African Americans in her community to stand up for their rights Betty quickly finds confidence and purpose in volunteering for the Housewives League an organization that supports black owned businesses Soon the American civil rights icon we now know as Dr Betty Shabazz is born. Betty before x reading level Collaborating with novelist Ren e Watson Ilyasah Shabazz illuminates four poignant years in her mother s childhood painting a beautiful and inspiring portrait of a girl overcoming the challenges of self acceptance and belonging that will resonate with young readers today Betty Before X.[1]
Ilyasah Shabazz third daughter of Malcolm X is an activist producer motivational speaker and the author of the critically acclaimed Growing Up X and the picture book Malcolm Little The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X She lives in Westchester County New York. Betty before xa and p This book is a narrative on the life of Betty Shabazz s childhood This is the little girl who would grow up to be the wife of Malcom X and a community leader It is considered fiction because of the way the story is told but her daughter is one of the author s so the basic facts of Betty s life are true The book is a short quick read It s perfect for kids who love historical fiction or stories about complicated families and friendships I found it engaging and hard to book down English Up until reading this book I knew nothing about Betty Shabazz other than her name You could chalk that up to privilege or to my ignorance Anyway I am extremely grateful for the books that Ilyasah Shabazz the daughter of Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X has been writing I read her fictionalized biography of her father last year and now this one about her mother Betty Shabazz born in Georgia to a teenaged mother her paternal grandmother suspected she was being abused and removed her from the home giving Betty to her Aunt Fannie Mae to raise The aunt died when Betty was 7 and Betty was sent to Detroit to be reunited with her mother her mother s husband 3 half sisters and 2 step brothers For reasons only hinted at Betty s mother she calls her by her first name always Ollie Mae is very hard on her eldest daughter and Betty s struggle for her mother s love is a central theme in the story This book was an enlightening look at Detroit in the 1940s and the nascent Civil Rights Movement as well as an introduction to a really strong and influential woman who deserves to have far recognition I loved this book English This is a great overview of the childhood of Betty Shabazz a woman who would eventually become to the wife of Malcolm X This is fiction but Renee Watson worked with Ilyasah Shabazz one of Betty s daughters so the facts here are about as true as a recounting of history can be Presenting this as a story will definitely make this material palatable for younger readers which is fantastic This book breaches a lot of topics such as social justice segregation and privilege among other things This is an accessible way for young readers to broach these still relevant political issues. Betty before x chapter summary There s also some very informational material at the end of the book I really enjoyed Shabazz s author s note There she delves into how the book was researched and written and provides some context to some of the changes that Shabazz made when recounting her mother s life to better serve the story and its readers While it makes perfect sense for this novel to focus on Betty s childhood reading this made me wish that there was some kind of sequel planned that would tackle Betty s later years as a teen and young adult The seeds are sowed for the great things she would go on to do but I wanted to see those things first hand I don t mean for this to sound like a critique rather I want this to demonstrate how compelling this narrative was as it made me want I hope it does the same for younger readers and inspires them to seek to learn about not only Betty but the issues she dedicated her life to fighting against English I m always blown away by middle grade that can take really intense and often sad subjects and make them appropriate for children Like I wanted to cry pretty much the entire time but I also think it s such a good book for the age category especially if taught in a classroom English Here we get the story of Betty Shabazz as a girl long before she met Malcolm and had her six daughters and got her PhD and rocked our world and it was narrated by the author her daughter no less This book was for a younger crowd than a ya book I d say and yet it speaks about police brutality and lynchings and the death of loved ones and civil rights and child abuse in a way that younger kids can listen to The book is just a short chunk of time featuring Betty just living her extraordinary and ordinary life going to church buying shoes being refused service protesting violence and changing the world Heroes we ve got many I d also like to shoutout all of the history and context provided in the afterword for this book I ll share this one with my daughter when she s a bit older English | Betty Before X By Ilyasah Shabazz |
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I m going to give this a tentative 3