"A history of racist and antiracist ideas in America, from their roots in Europe until today, adapted from the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

A timely reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped From the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America while explaining their endurance and capacity for being discredited. 100,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

Jason Reynolds is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many books, including When I Was the Greatest, Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), As Brave as You, For Every One, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), Long Way Down, and Look Both Ways. He is a two-time National Book Award finalist; the recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and multiple Coretta Scott King Honors; and the winner of a Kirkus Prize, two Walter Dean Myers Awards, and an NAACP Image Award, among other honors. He lives in Washington, D.C and invites you to visit him online at JasonWritesBooks.com.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of many books, including How to Raise an Antiracist; How to Be a (Young) Antiracist, co-authored with Nic Stone; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon, adapted for young readers. He invites you to visit him online at ibramxkendi.com. - (Grand Central Pub)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Reynolds continues his prolific streak with an absorbing young reader's adaptation of Kendi's National Book Award–winning title, Stamped from the Beginning (2016). "This is not a history book" declares Reynolds at the outset, an announcement that instantly absorbs readers, displaying the author's singular way of communicating with young people. Reynolds' "remix" begins in 1415 and travels into the present in five well-paced sections, following the general outline of Kendi's comprehensive title. Through figures like Cotton Mather, W. E. B Du Bois, and Angela Davis, among others, the thought patterns of segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists, respectively, are elucidated, along with the impact such ideas have on all aspects of American life. Throughout the book, Reynolds inserts literal pauses ("Record scratch"), and interjects with commentary ("Let that sink in") and clarifications, a way of insisting that the pages are not merely text, but a conversation. Readers will undoubtedly experience a mixture of feelings after finishing this book, but the encouragement to emerge as critical thinkers who can decipher coded language and harmful imagery stemming from racist ideas, which still linger in modern society and popular culture, will be the most empowering result. Thankfully, extensive back matter is included, with source notes and a dynamic further reading list. Required reading for everyone, especially those invested in the future of young people in America.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Reynolds is practically a household name in the kidlit community, and his lively take on Kendi's National Book Award–winning history of racism is sure to garner lots of attention. Grades 7-12. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

BookPage Reviews

The new required reading

Two books confront the history of racism in America and provide a road map for teens to take action.

★ Stamped
To foster a fruitful discussion about race in America, begin with an essential resource like Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi's Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. It "is not a history book. . . . At least, not like the ones you're used to reading in school." 

A "remix" of Kendi's Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, the book begins by dividing racial thought into three categories—segregationist, assimilationist and anti-racist—and clarifying that a person can articulate thoughts from more than one category in the span of a day and can certainly change camps over the course of years or a lifetime. It then follows the trail of racist and anti-racist ideas as they have challenged each other across history, from the first-known written record of racist ideas in 15th-century Europe to the arrival of Europeans on North American shores, all the way through contemporary American society. 

This may sound like an epic feat for a slim volume written for young readers—and it is. More than merely a young reader's adaptation of Kendi's landmark work, Stamped does a remarkable job of tying together disparate threads while briskly moving through its historical narrative. Employing his signature conversational tone, Reynolds selects key names to dwell on, revealing complex motivations behind their actions and diving fearlessly into their contradictions. 

This Book Is Anti-Racist
Once readers have been introduced to Stamped's thorough overview of the history and modus operandi of racist and anti-racist thought, the next steps are self-reflection and action. Turn to This Book Is Anti-Racist, written by Tiffany Jewell and illustrated by Aurélia Durand. It's a handbook for how to be an anti-racist in a racist world, with neatly organized sections that guide readers through its mix of theory and practice. 

First, Jewell encourages readers to explore their own identities and to consider how we all "carry" history. Next, she offers a guide on preparing to act against racism, including strategies such as disruption, interruption, calling in and calling out. Finally, she invites readers to consider how to work in concert with others through allyship, spending privilege, self-care and more. At the end of each section, journaling and writing activities help to solidify and personalize the content.

Jewell uses a mixture of facts and personal anecdotes to illustrate each concept. Her text speaks directly to young people and acknowledges their limitations—as well as their great potential—in a world where many decisions are made by adults. She is honest about the discomfort and risks involved in taking action against racism and encourages readers to reflect and prepare before they do so. 

Durand's colorful artwork depicts wonderfully diverse groups of young people, and it combines with Jewell's intentional use of inclusive language to provide a safe and inviting way for teen readers to reflect on the world's issues and their place in solving them.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Reynolds insists from the first paragraph that this is not a history book, and he's right; what instead he has created, in high rhetorical style, is a taking-to-account of American racism: how it got here, why it sticks around, why it needs to stop. Based on Kendi's National Book Award--winning Stamped from the Beginning (not read by this reviewer), this young reader's edition begins its argument in the European explorations and conquests of the fifteenth century, proceeding through slavery in colonial America through the Black Lives Matter movement of today. It's not an upward journey, though: the book takes a determinedly radical approach to racism and antiracism. Its heroes are John Brown, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis (very well profiled here) rather than Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., or Barack Obama. It's a point of view rarely seen in books for young people, but much of the appeal will stem from its fondness for overbold statements, like identifying a fourteenth-century Portuguese writer as the world's first racist only to contradict that claim with a reference to Aristotle within a few pages; and categorical thinking, like saying there were only two kinds of people in colonial America (farmers and missionaries) and, more generally, only three kinds of people in the world (racists, assimilationists, and antiracists). The casual voice is inviting if sometimes glib (comparing owning slaves to owning fancy sneakers, for example), but the joyful epater-ing of la bourgeoisie (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education is actually a pretty racist idea) offers lots to think and talk about. With source notes, an index, and a suggested reading list (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry). Copyright 2021 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

Reynolds insists from the first paragraph that "this is not a history book," and he's right; what instead he has created, in high rhetorical style, is a taking-to-account of American racism: how it got here, why it sticks around, why it needs to stop. Based on Kendi's National Book Award--winning Stamped from the Beginning (not read by this reviewer), this young reader's edition begins its argument in the European explorations and conquests of the fifteenth century, proceeding through slavery in colonial America through the Black Lives Matter movement of today. It's not an upward journey, though: the book takes a determinedly radical approach to racism and antiracism. Its heroes are John Brown, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis (very well profiled here) rather than Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., or Barack Obama. It's a point of view rarely seen in books for young people, but much of the appeal will stem from its fondness for overbold statements, like identifying a fourteenth-century Portuguese writer as "the world's first racist" only to contradict that claim with a reference to Aristotle within a few pages; and categorical thinking, like saying there were only two kinds of people in colonial America (farmers and missionaries) and, more generally, only three kinds of people in the world (racists, assimilationists, and antiracists). The casual voice is inviting if sometimes glib (comparing owning slaves to owning fancy sneakers, for example), but the joyful epater-ing of la bourgeoisie (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education is "actually a pretty racist idea") offers lots to think and talk about. With source notes, an index, and a suggested reading list (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry). Roger Sutton May/June 2020 p.144 Copyright 2020 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Award-winning author Reynolds (Look Both Ways, 2019, etc.) presents a young readers' version of American University professor Kendi's (How To Be an Antiracist, 2019, etc.) Stamped From the Beginning (2016). This volume, which is "not a history book," chronicles racist ideology, specifically anti-blackness in the U.S., from its genesis to its pernicious manifestations in the present day. In an open, conversational tone, Reynolds makes it clear that anti-black racist ideology in the U.S. has consistently relied on the erronious belief that African people (and black people in general) are "dumb" and "savage," ideas perpetuated through the written word, other media, and pseudo-science. Using separationist, assimilationist, and anti-racist historical figures, a direct line is drawn throughout U.S history from chattel slavery through the Civil War, Jim Crow, the civil rights era, the war on drugs, and #BlackLivesMatter, with plenty of little-known, compelling, and disturbing details inserted. Readers who want to truly understand how deeply embedded racism is in the very fabric of the U.S., its history, and its systems will come away educated and enlightened. It's a monumental feat to chronicle in so few pages the history of not only anti-black racism in the U.S., but also assimilationist and anti-racist thought as well. In the process it succeeds at connecting "history directly...to our lives as we live them right this minute." Worthy of inclusion in every home and in curricula and libraries everywhere. Impressive and much needed. (Nonfiction. 12-adult) Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Reynolds (Look Both Ways) lends his signature flair to remixing Kendi's award-winning Stamped from the Beginning into a powerful "not a history book" primer on the historical roots and present-day manifestations of antiblack racism in America. In five sections, Reynolds's conversational text discusses the influential figures, movements, and events that have propagated racist ideas, beginning in 1415 with the publication of the infamous work that laid the groundwork for subsequent religious justifications of enslaving African peoples and continuing through the "war on drugs" and #BlackLivesMatter. Employing a format that hews closely to Kendi's original, Reynolds discusses and differentiates between segregationist ("a hater"), assimilationist ("a coward"), and antiracist ("someone who truly loves") rhetoric via figures such as Angela Davis, W.E.B. DuBois, Thomas Jefferson, and Cotton Mather. Short chapters, lively phrasing ("You know what hits do—they spread"), and intentional breaks ("Time Out," "Let's all just take a deep breath") help maintain a brisk, compelling pace. Told impressively economically, loaded with historical details that connect clearly to current experiences, and bolstered with suggested reading and listening selected specifically for young readers, Kendi and Reynolds's volume is essential, meaningfully accessible reading. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 7 Up—Reynolds's adaptation of Kendi's National Book Award–winning title teaches readers to think critically about racism and antiracism in the United States and the Western world. Within short chapters and a chronological format, the authors discuss specific people and/or historical events. Those selected examples are used to expand upon broader themes. There are no shallow representations of the men and women profiled in this book. The authors argue that people fit into three categories, some transitioning from one category to another: segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists. The actions of President Thomas Jefferson, Cotton Mather, W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., Angela Davis, and President Barack Obama, among other U.S. presidents, citizens, and organized movements, are evaluated in relation to these categories. The varying text and sentence sizes, and the occasional font changes, effectively guide readers through the content. The tone of the writing varies from provocative to funny to gentle. Due to the work not being a straight narrative account, some passages may require readers to seek further information to fully understand the context. A recommended reading list features older and contemporary adult and young adult fiction and nonfiction titles. VERDICT Reynolds and Kendi eloquently challenge the common narrative attached to U.S. history. This adaptation, like the 2016 adult title, will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact. Highly recommended for libraries serving middle and high school students.—Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY

Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews

Stamped traces the history of racism and the many political, literary, and philosophical narratives that have been used to justify slavery, oppression, and genocide. Framed through the ideologies and thoughts of segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists throughout history, the book demonstrates that the "construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, whether financially or politically," and that this power has been used to systemically and systematically oppress Black people in the United States for more than four hundred years. An adaptation of the award-winning Stamped from the Beginning, this book repeatedly claims that it is not a history text, and it certainly does not feel like one. Instead, it is an accessible and compelling discussion of the history of racism from 1415 to 21st-century America, from Prince Henry's slave trading to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. It clearly articulates how racial inequity has been allowed to flourish since the fifteenth century and shows it is still fully entrenched in today's society. This is the goal of the book: to help young readers understand the complex history of racism to better understand its current manifestations. Armed with this knowledge, they can learn to identify racist actions, language, and policies, and look toward an equal, antiracist future. It might require some encouragement, but readers will be hooked by the conversational voice and vivid narrative segments. Without a doubt, this book should be a staple in every classroom and library in America.—Courtney Huse Wika. Table of Contents. Further Reading. Source Notes. Index. 5Q 4P M J S Copyright 2020 Voya Reviews.