Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock

By David Margolick
Lexile = ?

Do you know who the "Little Rock Nine" are? Nine black students were carefully selected to be the first to integrate the high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. They have since become known as the Little Rock Nine. Integration had happened elsewhere, but the folks of Little Rock fought the integration order and refused entry to the black students. In fact, a mob formed and grew daily. They spit on the students, screamed and threatened them. It was big time national news, and this photo became the most famous:

Elizabeth is the black girl in the white dress and sunglasses. Hazel is the white girl in the white dress who appears to be saying something pretty rotten to Elizabeth's back. This book is their story, obviously. Elizabeth and Hazel provides context for the integration, gives back stories for both of these teenagers, and uncovers the outcomes of that fateful time. Oprah interviewed the Little Rock Nine in 1996. A clip is HERE.

Now I am reading The Lions of Little Rock, a fictionalized retelling of that time. The background I read in Elizabeth and Hazel is making my current read more entertaining!