Strange Fruit

Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song

  • Interest Level: Grade 3 - Grade 6
  • Reading Level: Grade 4

The audience was completely silent the first time Billie Holiday performed a song called “Strange Fruit.” In the 1930s, Billie was known as a performer of jazz and blues music, but this song wasn’t either of those things. It was a song about injustice, and it would change her life forever.

Discover how two outsiders—Billie Holiday, a young black woman raised in poverty, and Abel Meeropol, the son of Jewish immigrants—combined their talents to create a song that challenged racism and paved the way for the Civil Rights movement.

Format Your Price Add
978-1-4677-5123-0
$14.99
978-1-5124-3864-2
$24.99
Interest Level Grade 3 - Grade 6
Reading Level Grade 4
Genre Picture Books
Category 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, 5KN: Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity
Copyright 2017
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Millbrook Press ™
Language English
Number of Pages 40
Publication Date 2017-02-01
Reading Counts! Level 5.6
Text Type Narrative Nonfiction
BISACS JNF036040, JNF007040, JNF018010
Dewey 782.42165
Graphics Full-color illustrations
Dimensions 9.25 x 11
Lexile 870
ATOS Reading Level 4.8
Accelerated Reader® Quiz 187709
Accelerated Reader® Points 0.5
Features Afterword, Author/Illustrator biography, Awards, Bibliography/further reading, Original artwork, Reviewed, Source notes, and Starred Reviews

Author: Gary Golio

Gary Golio is an artist and acclaimed picture book author. His Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow was a New York Times bestseller. Find out more about him at www.garygolio.com.

Illustrator: Charlotte Riley-Webb

Charlotte Riley-Webb, a professional visual artist with a career that spans more than 40 years, resides in the Atlanta area. Find her online at www.charlotterileywebb.com.

Awards

  • ALA Notable Children's Books, Winner, 2018
  • NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, Winner, 2018
  • Kirkus Best Children's Books, Winner, 2017
  • NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, Winner, 2017

Reviews

Booklist

“The format and back matter make this most useful in a classroom setting, but it will be effective in prompting a discussion about one of the darkest times in U.S. history.”—Booklist