How to Build a Museum: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture - Hardcover

Acclaimed author Tonya Bolden has written more than 15 books for young people, including Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century Girl; Searching for Sarah Rector, the Richest Black Girl in America; Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty; and M. L. K., The Journey of a King, among others. Her work has been recognized with the Coretta Scott King Honor; the James Madison Award; the Carter G. Woodson Award; and NCTE Orbis Pictus Honors, among others. Her titles are also frequently on YALSA, ALA, and CCBC "best" lists. She received the 2016  Nonfiction Award from the Children's Book Guild of Washington D.C. She lives in New York City.

Gr 5 Up—One hundred years ago, the National Memorial Association was formed to establish a monument honoring African American veterans of the Civil War. It took years to get Congressional support, but finally, in the late 1920s, a bill was passed to create a committee to establish a museum dedicated to African American contributions to our nation. While the committee was abolished during the Depression, the dream was not. However, it took another 70 years of urging by activists and politicians to renew interest in the project. Bolden investigates this history and the search for a museum director and artifacts, including the national call for "treasures" and the related national tour by curators in search of items for the collection. In addition, she discusses the museum's location on the National Mall, a place once bordered by "holding pens for enslaved people bound for the Deep South." Archival and contemporary photos and reproductions of artwork and other materials enhance this clearly written, well-documented book. The images increase in the second half and highlight the museum's permanent collections devoted to slavery and freedom; segregation; African American religious, civic, and educational institutions, communities, military experience; and other topics. Here, introductory paragraphs discuss the focus of the exhibits and the questions they ask, while captions add fascinating detail about the items presented. VERDICT An important, profusely illustrated account of the history, building, and collections of a national treasure.—Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal