Strange Fruit, Volume II

Beautifully illustrated and well told stories of American History. Great for history buffs, and a great introduction for pre teens and teens.

I'm always looking for books that are engaging or educating or hopefully both for YA students. Call this one "both."

I found this book of stories about African American history really interesting. I am ashamed to admit that I was ot familiar with any of these stories. iI enjoyed the comic book type format . I think it makes it very approachable to many readers, including kids. I would recommend this book for everyone, but especially younger readers.

I am not a teen, however, I love this book! This is a short read, which tells of stories from various African Americans. These are people who I have never heard about (though I am an avid reader of this genre.) I also like to express how I like the way the author illustrated the "bad words," excellent.

This was an absolutely amazing, engaging, informative, and beautiful piece of art and education. I fully plan on purchasing it and the first volume for my family so that I can share it with my daughters. I may even purchase copies for their classrooms - every one should have access to this. The stories are well told and should be widely known. I don't think I've felt this grateful for something I've read in a very long time. It is a gift.

This little graphic novel is absolutely PHENOMENAL and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It covers eight stories of important black historical figures, and makes them perfectly readable for any age range. There is some creative censoring in place for young readers whose parents might not be comfortable with them seeing slurs in print, as well as older readers who don't want to be reminded of those hurtful phrases, but the point is never glossed over. That said, these stories do not focus on black pain—they focus on black pride and the amazing things these individuals have done.

The individuals highlighted in the collection are Jourdon Anderson, Stagecoach Mary Fields, Willie Kennard, Cathay Williams, Blind Tom Wiggins, Millie and Christine McCoy, Victor Green, and Eugene Bullard. All of the stories take place during the 1820s-1960s. While I was familiar with almost all of the stories, this collection made me realize I'd been fed whitewashed versions of many of them, so I'm very grateful to the author for putting together this work and showing me what really happened. It was eye-opening in a sense as it made me realize that I need to do better about ensuring that the historical information I'm reading is the truth and not yet another contribution to the systemic oppression and erasure of black history and culture.

Of course, this collection of stories would be a perfect one to recommend for Black History Month, but I want to echo what the author stated at the end of the collection: "28 days are not enough when it comes to Black History." Don't wait until BHM—pick this one up immediately, and you won't regret it!

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Fulcrum Publishing for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My Thoughts:
This graphic historical non-fiction highlights vignettes of black Americans living from the period of slavery to right before the civil rights movement. Because of this dark time in history, none of the stories are very uplifting except the story of Victor Green. The rest of them show different kinds of heroism but because these are real people's histories in an anti-black America, most of the lives in here are also about the effects of systemic racism in America.

The one "uplifting" story is about Victor Green, a postal worker who decided to publish the Green Book for the Negro Motorist. The first printing was in 1936. In it he identified safe gas stations, bathrooms, restaurants and resorts across America for the African American traveler. His goal was to eventually not need to publish this type of book anymore. Although it lasted a few years after the Civil Rights act, the last publishing of the Green Book was in 1967.

In truth, the rest of the stories are disheartening, however the references at the back, the artwork and the limited text are perfect for the middle school reader to do further research. We need more of these types of graphic works built on primary resources. It is time that our social studies curriculum told history from the point of view of the downtrodden too, and not just the victors.

First, WOW! I knew a couple of these people from past readings, however, I have never seen a black historic graphic novel. I can't wait to add this to our library collection. I'll also be sure to order anything else he has written. My 10 year old also read this along side me, he really enjoyed it. He actually asked if we could get both volumes for our home collection. Often times, it's difficult to get kids, especially young boys to red non-fiction. We need more authors willing to put their ideas into a different format, or we can just get Joel Gill to do it! Amazing work, I look forward to more from him.

An absolutely beautiful and educational look into the history that America refuses to tell us. Once I picked up I couldn't put down. This is definitely a fast addition to my personal collection and to the libraries where I work.

Chances are you've heard of Martin Luther King. Or Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X and similar African Americans. Not a year goes by when I don't hear or read about one of the above names. These names are popular in any civil right discourse around the world.

Chances are you don't hear much (or have never heard) of Stagecoach Mary Fields. Stagecoach Mary was a "gun-toting, cigar-smoking, saloon-dwelling mountain of a woman with larger-than-average-hands." At 6 feet tall, she towers above most women and many men. She outworked many strong men in a fashion that made her a supervisor on many jobs. Many resented her for this, not least because she was a black woman.

At a period when women were supposed to be frail and meek, Stagecoach Mary (then 60 years old) ran the star route - one of the most treacherous roads - for the US Mail. She did this even during winter periods. Also, she was the second ever woman to ever do this.

Chances are you have never heard much of Willie Kennard either. Willie Kennard was a man who, around the 1870s, wandered into a town terrorised by a criminal who had killed its marshall and raped a fifteen-year-old. Kennard got rid of the threat and became the town's new marshal. Though a few people tried to run him out of town, angry that a black man was the town's lawman, Kennard stayed on until the town's mining prospects declined.

The characters above experienced severe discrimination and hard lives, but their talents, tenacity, (with the help of a few kind people) made them shine in adversity as an example to all.

If you want to learn more about these fascinating souls and many more, check out Strange Fruit, Volume 2 (Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History) by Joel Christian Gill. It is well worth your time.

I loved learning about all those black figures of History and the illustrations were very well made !

I know very little about African-American history but this book has taught me quite a bit on the subject in a nifty fashion. (I'm Asian, living outside of the US.)

Athough I didn't love the illustration style there's something about it that just fits the narrative and subject it's trying to convey. It's not too polished but defined at the same time with an olive, brown and orange color scheme.

This is a brilliant way to teach history to all ages. Despite it being a graphic novel with its low count of words, as compared to a textbook or novel, it cuts through to the core of the message and deftly presents each story succinctly. Some of them were sorrowful and others uplifting but all of them featured admirable human beings. For all its worldly advancements I was a tad surprised that America was quite behind other countries when it came to matters like race.

I enjoyed Strange Fruit and will look out for the 1st book.

(Thanks goes to Fulcrum Publishing and Netgalley for providing a free e-copy in return for my honest review)

A brilliant and educational read detailing the stories of little known African-American figures. The art was beautiful. I highly recommend this graphic novel.

A great book, it didn't disappoint. Entertaining and very informative all at the same time. Fun to read too!

This is the first graphic novel I am reading that is centered around black lives. I loved it and I was moved by every story it contained. The illustrations perfectly complement the story, and ai think it is a power exclusive to graphic novels to send you to the location of events both mentally and visually. The stories arouse anger, sympathy and love - and are nothing like what I have read in graphic novels before. Highly recommended.

Really nice presentation of some lesser known figures in African-American History. Told and illustrated in a nice folk art style. Some great stories here. Honestly, the only one I was even vaguely familiar with was the one about the gentleman who created the Green Book.

I think this would be a great story time book for parents to share with their children.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joel Christian Gill has an incredible talent for bringing the stories of important but lesser-known figures from Black history into the spotlight. The stories Gill shares in Strange Fruit Volume II are the exact kind of stories I wish I had heard as a child, but I am incredibly glad for everyone, adult or child, who gets to read these stories now.

Gill uses an accessible art style to portray history in a way that is appealing without ever feeling condescending, as well as in a way that is interesting without ever appearing sensational. The storytelling style feels exactly the same, and there's something that I think is vital in getting to experience these stories for the first time from someone who cares about how those stories are being presented.

The assortment of people who are featured in this collection is quite broad. I had only properly read about one of them before (Mary Fields), and I had heard of maybe two others. I am always delighted when a collection of biographies can show me so many incredible figures that I was unfamiliar with before. I think the ability to make unknown figures known and accessible for a broad audience is vital and makes Gill a force to be reckoned with.

I highly recommend all of Joel Christian Gill's work, and Strange Fruit Volume II is no exception. Reading the first volume is not necessary to read and love the second volume. While the series isn't targeted towards younger readers, I think that anyone middle grade and up will find something to love here.

Big fan of this - in concept, format, cover, and content. These are stories that need to be told, and I'm glad that they are. The trick will be to get them into readers' hands. I think it will take a little push from librarians, but I really don't think it would be that hard....

Review to post on my blog March 21, 2019

The stories included in this volume were very interesting. It showed great diversity among the different characters, their history and life story. The art style was great and was not jarring, despite some of the ways it could have been. I had heard of none of these historical figures before, but I found their struggles and triumphs interesting to read. I felt like they put a lot of information and history in these short stories and I would love to read Volume 1 in the future.

I absolutely love these stories and the illustrations. I just wish they were longer! Some of these stories would make thrilling novels and films.

This is the perfect book for the classroom. The graphic nonfiction covers little-known African Americans who should be in the history books. When read individually, the pieces give enough information to intrigue the reader but also allows space for the reader (my students) to research the people on their own. When read together as a collection of vignettes, the piece covers various people that gives the book a holistic feel. Overall, this is a need in every classroom.

I very much enjoyed this comic. I knew the letter of Jourdon Anderson and about Victor Green, but the rest of the people showcased were new to me. I appreciated the artwork and the straightforward storytelling - not skipping the negative truths in history but focusing on uplifting parts of the stories as much as the upsetting. I think this will be a good book to share with my daughter someday.

I love this book. In fact, after reading it, I went and got volume 1. Some of the stories I had heard before but many of them, I had not. The illustrations are great and the way the stories are told bring levity to some very grim moments in US history. It's a fun, quick read and I am definitely going to purchase this book for friends and family of all ages.

The author/illustrator created these books with the hope that we could stop having a "white history" and a "black history," and work toward having one united American history.

I don't normally read graphic novels, but this was a fun way to learn about a variety of black Americans I'd never heard of before. They weren't the kind of people who would make a big historic difference like Dr. King, but they were all extraordinary in some way.

I think my favorite person in the book was Tom Wiggins. He was a blind autistic boy who wasn't even expected to live when he was an infant. He turned out to be like the Stevie Wonder of the slave era. He could learn to play any musical instrument almost instantly, and he could mimic any vocal sounds he heard, including foreign languages he had never learned. Of course, his master and manager exploited him for money and for the Confederate cause. But Tom didn't really notice or care much. He just wanted to make music, all day every day.

Gill's illustrations are very appealing. I'm looking forward to reading Volume I.

Fabulous continuation from his first volume of Strange Fruit. Highly recommend for students and adults alike!

This is exactly what I am looking for to use with reluctant readers in my American Lit class in the Fall. Thanks!

Read this all in one sitting as it was both riveting and extremely easy to read. This was the perfect read for this times, too. Here we were introduced to the life stories of 8 African Americans unwritten about in the usual history books but well worth highlighting for their perseverance to overcome extreme adversity in the 1800s and 1900s. I love a good historical graphic novel as it brings to life stories that some might otherwise never encounter!

Fabulous and accessible graphic novel about some Black stories you might not have heard before. The stories are cited (which makes my historian heart happy) and are nicely illustrated. I also appreciated that the text is straightforward and gives space to the images. Will be checking out the 1st volume now too!