The Freedom Summer Murders by Don Mitchell

This is one to have in your nonfiction collection.  The Freedom Summer Murders by Don Mitchell details the true story of three men murdered while trying to help register African Americans to vote in 1964.

I had no idea about the tragedy before reading this novel, which is not good since it's one of the most important events to take place during the Civil Rights Movement.  The book offer important details and plenty of pictures to highlight the courageous lives of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.  The author, Don Mitchell, does a wonderful job of organizing the chapters in chronological order, using the friends and families stories, and focusing on each of these men's lives - while including information of what was happening in our country, especially in the south, during the summer of 1964.

I would highly recommend this book for middle and high schools.  It could be easily incorporated into a book study in the classroom and used for discussions.  I imagine many students will want to dig even deeper, researching more, after this book is shared with them - which is what the library is all about.