{"product_id":"a-long-time-coming-isbn-9781662680663","title":"A Long Time Coming","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis YA biography-in-verse of six important Black Americans from different eras, including Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, chronicles the diverse ways each fought racism and shows how much—and how little—has changed for Black Americans since our country’s founding.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFull of daring escapes, deep emotion, and subtle lessons on how racism operates, A LONG TIME COMING reveals the universal importance of its subjects’ struggles for justice. From freedom seeker Ona Judge, who fled her enslavement by America’s first president, to Barack Obama, the first Black president, all of Shepard’s protagonists fight valiantly for justice for themselves and all Black Americans in any way that they can.  But it is also a highly personal book, as Shepard — whose maternal grandfather was enslaved — shows how the grand sweep of history has touched his life, reflecting on how much progress has been made against racism, while also exhorting readers to complete the vast work that remains to be done.\u003cb\u003eA School Library Journal Best Book\u003cbr\u003eA Booklist Editors' Choice \u003cbr\u003eA Kirkus Best Book\u003cbr\u003e2024 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTexas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List\u003cbr\u003eFinalist, SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction Text for Older Readers\u003cbr\u003eNamed to the 2024 Capitol Choices list\u003cbr\u003eA Bank Street Best Children's Book\u003cbr\u003eIncluded on the 2025 ALSC Día Reading List\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ \"These narratives will also give young people a new understanding of how the subjects became exceptional forces for racial freedom...Meticulously researched and organized...Shepard creatively argues through captivating poetic history that racial justice is the long struggle in this country and that we are still working toward who ''we' is in this more perfect union. A must ­purchase.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ \"Rooting the events presented in documented history, Shepard distills them into concentrated bursts of truth... Christie’s section-heading black-and-white scenes are as starkly powerful as the poems. The information presented is kaleidoscopic rather than comprehensive; readers will come away with clear senses of who these individuals were and what motivated them, while formidable backmatter...provides avenues for them to fill in the gaps. Electrifying.\"\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e —Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ \"In this substantive nonfiction history in verse, Shepherd depicts the lives of six Black Americans who 'tilted the country’s moral arc toward liberty, freedom, and justice.' The poetry is always engaging, at times unwieldy, at times electric in its power. Highly recommended for both personal reading and curricular study.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ “This is a highly readable work of creative nonfiction told in five story-poems–flash lines of verse, prose, and quotes–anchored in historical facts The individual poems are impressionistic, and many have a rhythm that would work well when read aloud.” —\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eYouth Service Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In this biography in verse, Shepard presents thoroughly researched portraits of six historical Black figures...Shepard makes each subject both distinct and connected; repetitive phrases and similar stylistic structures thread through the book, underscoring an arc of history that has lurched toward racial justice in fits and starts, taking one step back as many times as it moved forward.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eA Long Time Coming\u003c\/i\u003e is an unflinching, thoughtful, instructive, and beautiful rendering of the African American journey from slavery to freedom and beyond. Students of all ages will benefit from reading it.”—\u003cb\u003eRandall Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School and author of \u003ci\u003eSay It Loud! On Race, Law, History, and Culture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Ray Anthony Shepard takes readers on an epic journey along Freedom’s road. As they encounter conquering souls like Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and President Obama, readers will finish the book bolstered with understanding and feelings of inspiration and joy.”—\u003cb\u003eAlice Faye Duncan, author of \u003ci\u003eMemphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In powerful prose poetry, Ray Anthony Shepard recounts the lives and audacity of Black leaders from Harriet Tubman and Frederic Douglass to Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and President Barack Obama. Learning about them together gives this history of our country’s sins and the people who fought for justice the gravitas it deserves. I pray that this book—painful, revealing, and ultimately inspiring—will disprove forever ‘the lie,’ as Shepard puts it perfectly, ‘that people are color-coded into winners and losers.’ It is a long time coming.”—\u003cb\u003eDeborah Heiligman, author of \u003ci\u003eCharles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An exquisite historical tapestry, \u003ci\u003eA Long Time Coming\u003c\/i\u003e, weaves the lives of six heroes to create unflinchingly detailed documentation of American strength, suffering, and survival. Approachable, quick, and brimming with dynamic storytelling. Depth of research shines as Shepard graciously sheds new light on the lives of these heroes.”—\u003cb\u003eAngela Joy, author of \u003ci\u003eChoosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eRay Anthony Shepard\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eNow or Never!: Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry’s War to End Slaver\u003c\/i\u003ey, a Carter G. Woodson Award Honor Book and a Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book, and \u003ci\u003eRunaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge\u003c\/i\u003e, an ALSC and an NCSS Notable Book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eR. Gregory Christie\u003c\/b\u003e is a recipient of the Caldecott Honor, a winner of the NAACP Image award, and a six-time Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award honoree. His recent Calkins Creek books include \u003ci\u003eAnswering the Cry for Freedom \u003c\/i\u003eby Gretchen Woelfle, which won the Carter G. Woodson Book Award, and \u003ci\u003eMemphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop \u003c\/i\u003eby Alice Faye Duncan, which received six starred reviews and for which Christie received the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor.This is a work of creative nonfiction told in five\u003cbr\u003estory-poems—flash lines of verse, prose, and quotes—\u003cbr\u003eanchored in historical facts. Nonfiction in verse may sound\u003cbr\u003elike an oxymoron, a mash-up gone astray, as awful as a\u003cbr\u003esardines-and-sauerkraut breakfast sandwich. Instead, I hope to\u003cbr\u003eserve you banana and peanut butter spread on a toasted sesame\u003cbr\u003eseed bagel—delicious, but not your usual fare. Nonfiction\u003cbr\u003ein verse is my way to tell a story of race in the lives of six\u003cbr\u003eAmerican historymakers who helped form a more perfect\u003cbr\u003eUnion: Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman,\u003cbr\u003eIda B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama.\u003cbr\u003eI have not attempted to tell their complete life stories. Instead,\u003cbr\u003eI present scenes from significant events that show how they\u003cbr\u003etilted the country’s moral arc toward liberty, freedom, and\u003cbr\u003ejustice to make the United States the world’s first major\u003cbr\u003emultiethnic democracy. These scenes are authentic moments\u003cbr\u003einspired by real and confirmed facts of our country’s heroic and\u003cbr\u003econtinuing struggle to become an inclusive democracy. In place\u003cbr\u003eof quotation marks, I have italicized all quotes and listed their\u003cbr\u003ereferences in the sources notes. Also, I have capitalized Black\u003cbr\u003eand White when pertaining to race.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Ray Anthony Shepard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEPILOGUE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Long Time\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1796\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOna, not a Judge, but a\u003cbr\u003eThief.\u003cbr\u003eDid not wait to hear liberty’s\u003cbr\u003eBell.\u003cbr\u003eStole what she could not have—\u003cbr\u003eHerself.\u003cbr\u003eIt was a long time coming.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1838\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrederick Douglass’s lightning\u003cbr\u003eMind.\u003cbr\u003eDid not wait for Union’s\u003cbr\u003eVictory.\u003cbr\u003eSparked freedom from heaven’s\u003cbr\u003eStars.\u003cbr\u003eIt was a long time coming.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1849\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHarriet Tubman fearless\u003cbr\u003eWarrior.\u003cbr\u003eDid not wait for Lincoln’s\u003cbr\u003eProclamation.\u003cbr\u003eGuided the unfree with her North Star’s\u003cbr\u003eTorch.\u003cbr\u003eIt was a long time coming.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1892\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIda B. Wells, citizens’\u003cbr\u003eCrusader.\u003cbr\u003eDid not wait to expose\u003cbr\u003eJim Crow.\u003cbr\u003eShowed the world his brutal\u003cbr\u003eCrimes.\u003cbr\u003eIt was a long time coming.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1955\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMartin Luther King Jr., America’s protest\u003cbr\u003ePreacher.\u003cbr\u003eDid not wait for the Guardians’\u003cbr\u003eRepentance.\u003cbr\u003eMarched evil from the country’s\u003cbr\u003ePromise.\u003cbr\u003eIt was a long time coming.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e2009\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBarack Obama, United States\u003cbr\u003ePresident.\u003cbr\u003eDid not wait for racial hate to\u003cbr\u003eClear.\u003cbr\u003eChallenged the Guardians to\u003cbr\u003eChange.\u003cbr\u003eIt was a long time coming.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eToday\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOna to Obama, red, white, and blue\u003cbr\u003eSparks.\u003cbr\u003eDid not wait for others to light the\u003cbr\u003eSky.\u003cbr\u003eDeclared a new Fourth of\u003cbr\u003eJuly.\u003cbr\u003eIt was a long time coming.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTomorrow\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eYou, you, and you,\u003cbr\u003eFriend.\u003cbr\u003eDo not wait. Their work is not yet\u003cbr\u003eDone.\u003cbr\u003ePush We the people beyond the founders’\u003cbr\u003eVision.\u003cbr\u003eIt was a long time coming.","brand":"Calkins Creek","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301155000549,"sku":"NP9781662680663","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781662680663.jpg?v=1767720617","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/a-long-time-coming-isbn-9781662680663","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}