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Malcolm X: A Fire Burning Brightly

(2000, Non-Fiction - Biography, Written by Walter Myers, Illustrated by Leonard Jenkins)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 6, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Complex issues make this best for older kids.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 8 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    At one time, Malcolm X advocated that blacks and whites should be completely segregated.

  • Violence & scariness:

    Not shown but explained are two deaths--that of Malcolm X's father (who may have been murdered) and of Malcolm X, who is shot.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Malcolm X: A Fire Burning Brightly

Parents need to know that this book doesn't soften Malcolm X's story. It addresses the full scope of his life, including poverty, imprisonment, struggle, and then assassination.

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about how Malcolm X changed over the course of his life. What beliefs stayed constant? What beliefs changed? Do you think he was more effective or less effective as a leader and inspiration later in his life? Parents also can talk about Malcolm X in comparison with other civil rights leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr.
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