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About the Books

LIBRARY RECORDS (for requesting copies; be sure to specify the volume(s) you want)

SYNOPSES (from the publisher)

Book One: Book One spans John Lewis’ youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.

NPR book review: “MARCH sheds new light on a civil rights hero”
New York Times book review: “MARCH graphic novel revisits civil rights movement in rich detail”
Goodreads reviews

Book Two: After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence — but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before. Faced with beatings, police brutality, imprisonment, arson, and even murder, the movement’s young activists place their lives on the line while internal conflicts threaten to tear them apart. But their courage will attract the notice of powerful allies, from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy . . . and once Lewis is elected chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, this 23-year-old will be thrust into the national spotlight, becoming one of the “Big Six” leaders of the civil rights movement and a central figure in the landmark 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

NPR book review: “Low-key, real-life heroism in ‘MARCH: Book TWO'”
Washington Post book review: “As a must-read monument, MARCH: BOOK TWO . . . “
Goodreads reviews

Book Three: By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as chairman of SNCC, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense. The only hope for lasting change is to give voice to the millions of Americans silenced by voter suppression. Lewis and an army of young activists launch a series of innovative campaigns, including the Freedom Vote, Mississippi Freedom Summer, and an all-out battle for the soul of the Democratic Party waged live on national television. With these new struggles come new allies, new opponents, and an unpredictable new president who might be both at once. But fractures within the movement are deepening . . . even as 25-year-old John Lewis prepares to risk everything in a historic showdown high above the Alabama river, in a town called Selma.

Washington Post review: “Rep. John Lewis’s new MARCH: BOOK THREE rises to the occasion”
Kirkus Reviews starred review
Goodreads reviews

REVIEWS AND COMMENTARY ON THE SERIES

From the publisher: reviews, teacher guides, and links to purchase all three volumes: https://www.topshelfcomix.com/march
From The New York Times: ‘March’ Graphic Novel Revisits Civil Rights Movement in Rich Detail
From The Atlantic: John Lewis and the Cycle of Racism in the United States
From Teen Vogue: John Lewis Speaks about “March” and Political Activism

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

Book One: Winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award — Special Recognition; A #1 New York Times Bestseller; A #1 Washington Post Bestseller; A Coretta Scott King Honor Book; An ALA Notable Book; One of YALSA’s Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens; One of YALSA’s Top 10 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults; One of YALSA’s Outstanding Books for the College Bound; One of Reader’s Digest‘s Graphic Novels Every Grown-Up Should Read; Endorsed by NYC Public Schools’ “NYC Reads 365” program; Selected for first-year reading programs by Michigan State University, Marquette University, and Georgia State University; Nominated for three Will Eisner Awards; Nominated for the Glyph Award; Named one of the best books of 2013 by USA Today, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book, Paste, Slate, ComicsAlliance, Amazon, and Apple iBooks.

Book Two: New York Times Bestseller; One of YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens; Winner of the Will Eisner Award; Winner of the Street Literature Book Award Medal; Winner of the Denver Independent Comic & Art Expo Award

Book Three: A #1 New York Times Bestseller; Winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award; Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award; Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award; Winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction; Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature – Young Adult Category; Winner of the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award; Winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award; Winner of the Georgia Author of the Year Award; Finalist for the LA Times Book Prize

TESTIMONIALS

“March is one of the most important graphic novels ever created — an extraordinary presentation of an extraordinary life, and proof that young people can change the world. I’m stunned by the power of these comics, and grateful that Congressman Lewis’s story will enlighten and inspire future generations of readers and leaders.” — Raina Telgemeier

“An incredible accomplishment. It is the history of John Lewis, the civil rights movement and his role in it… a book that explains — more deeply than anything else I’ve ever read — the methods and the moral foundations of the civil rights movement, how civil rights activists did what they did and won what they won, and how they had the strength to do it in the most difficult circumstances imaginable.” — Rachel Maddow

“I cannot recommend this book enough.” — Trevor Noah

“This memoir’s unique eyewitness view of epochal events makes it essential reading for an understanding of those times—and these.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A stirring call to action that’s particularly timely in this election year, and one that will resonate and empower young readers in particular. Essential reading.” — Booklist(starred review)

“Simultaneously epic and intimate… These vivid black-and-white visuals soar.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Lewis has a unique perspective from which to recall these events, and he does so with intimate familiarity and bracing honesty… Powell’s kinetic, fluid black-and-white illustrations create a relentless cascade of words and images that assaults the senses and underscores the brutality of the period. From Maus to Persepolis, graphic-novel memoirs have accounted for a large share of critical acclaim for the comics format, and now that this trilogy is complete, it can stand shoulder to shoulder with any of them.” — The Horn Book (starred review)

“A perfect balance of clarity and passion… The narrative reveals the real work of revolution, focusing not just on the well-known events but the behind-the-scenes decision making.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This account of heroism relived, penned with personal and political honesty, is essential reading for tweens through adults.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“The closest American peer to Maus has arrived.” — The Washington Post

“Extraordinary.” — The Chicago Tribune

“Every bit the first two’s equal… An essential story.” — Austin American-Statesman

“March: Book Three is more than just a wonderfully executed historical account and terrific educational volume; it’s a victory tale for the oppressed, an inspiration to anyone victimized by injustice, and a positive and motivational work that sings the praises and virtue of non-violence.” — Comic Book Resources

“March may be the best civil rights story ever… I would even put it in the same hallowed category as Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus.” — Mashable

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Speakers and Workshops

For Teens and Children