Kirkus praises Lesa Cline-Ransome’s IDA B. WELLS AND THE UNTOLD TRUTH OF A COUNTRY in starred review: “a captivating narrative that reveals a fascinating, complex woman”
★ IDA B. WELLS AND THE UNTOLD TRUTH OF A COUNTRY [STARRED REVIEW!]
Author: Lesa Cline-Ransome
Review Issue Date: October 15, 2026
Online Publish Date: September 14, 2026
Publisher:Holiday House
Pages: 304
Price ( Hardcover ): $19.99
Publication Date: January 12, 2027
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 9780823456239
Section: Children's
“Award-winner Cline-Ransome presents a portrait of Ida B. Wells, who devoted her life to seeking justice and ending violence against formerly enslaved people.
In 1862, just six months before the Emancipation Proclamation, Wells was born to Jim and Lizzie, a couple held in bondage in Mississippi. When Wells was 5, Jim, who opened a carpentry shop, voted for the first time—and suffered retaliation from his landlord. Undeterred, he and Lizzie, a cook, did all they could to seek education for their children. In 1878, after Wells’ parents died of yellow fever, she assumed responsibility for her younger siblings. At 18, she moved with two sisters to stay with relatives in Memphis, which had a thriving Black middle class. There, Wells worked as a teacher and began a lifelong fight against injustice. She used her newspaper column in The Evening Star to speak out against the brutal atrocities of former enslavers and their supporters. Her pieces were reprinted in the growing Black press, developing her reputation. Wells became an important voice—even touring Europe—speaking out against lynching and for women’s suffrage. Cline-Ransome’s exemplary biography of a noteworthy figure effectively employs primary sources to bring its subject to life. The short chapters contribute to its accessibility, and the carefully chosen historical details place Wells’ life and work in the context of her times.
A captivating narrative that reveals a fascinating, complex woman who was determined to change the world. (author’s note, timeline, bibliography, endnotes, resources, picture credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)”
—Kirkus Reviews