The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore

I have read about Mr. Micheaux previously and was saddened that I hadn't heard of him before. We read of Fahrenheit 451 and the fictional warning of what happens when books are denied but not of real life attempts to put books in the hands of the oppressed. This story should be part of basic American education.

After discovering this book at the local library over the summer, I completely fell in love! It kind of went over my boys' heads (ages 5, and 3 at the time) but its perfect for the late elementary crowd. The artwork is beautiful, and the message is powerful. If you are looking for a great book for your classroom, or simply for your own collection I highly recommend this one!

So well written with gorgeous illustrations. This is a book to be shared with all elementary classrooms. I love the story, I love the theme of the power of books and words. Just beautiful!

Great book about my hometown.

excellent

Great book.

It was a good book

Amazing story about Lewis Michaux who started a bookshop called the National Memorial African Bookstore in Harlem.This book was written by one of Mr Michaux's relatives who had access to archival material and family history and that makes this book shine. It's an amazing story but it's a true story which makes it even more compelling. And the story is told from the point of view of Mr Michaux's young son, Lewis Michaux Jr, and it also includes something on a lot of the famous people who visited the bookstore over the years.The illustrations are vibrant and Mr Michaux's pithy wisdom appears throughout the book in bold text. I also really enjoyed reading the last few pages of history about the bookshop and Mr Michaux and about the author.Highly recommended.