Stories of strong African American settlers of the old west, geared for Upper elementary.

With an introduction and thorough end notes, this book spotlights three Black heroes of the wild west. Starting with a quick dive into the life of Stagecoach Mary, a woman with varied trailblazing careers and behaviors that defied constraints often imposed on Black women. The second chapter details one exploit of Bass Reeves arresting outlaws working as a sheriff undercover. The third chapter details horseman Bob Lemmons and the patience used to build a herd of mustangs.
Easily readable. ( )

The cover of James Otis Smith’s graphic novel features Mary Fields, a 19th-century Black woman variously known as Black Mary, White Crow and, more popularly, Stagecoach Mary. This is a beautiful and quick read of non fiction with historical context. The text and pictures celebrate our lesser known heroes of the past.

We first meet o“Stagecoach” Mary Fields defending her mail coach one freezing night in Montana by battling back a pack of wolves. Mary is resourceful, fearless and unapologetic, whether helping nuns build their mission, nursing the Mother Superior, opening her own restaurant, gambling, carrying a rifle, wearing pants or drinking in saloons.

Then comes Bass Reeves, born into slavery in Arkansas, in 1938. Living amount the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole nations, he learned to speak their languages. This and his reputation for fairness was the reason he was recruited as a Deputy US Marshal, the first black marshal west of the Mississippi River. Was he the Lone Ranger. He was the subject of a long running tv show and movies even though The lone Ranger was depicted as white.

Lastly, we meet Bob Lemmons who helped his neighbors through the difficult times of The Great Depression and lived to the age of 99.

Don’t miss the rich information and photographs on the end pages of this book. ( )

These brief little life sketches should serve to whet the appetites of young readers to find out more about the featured individuals -- I know I want to. I really appreciated all the photographs throughout, and the text pieces at the end added a lot of terrific context, though they may be a bit too dense for younger readers. ( )