The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore

By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and R. Gregory Christie

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, ALA Notable Children's Book, CCBC Best Children's Book of the Year, Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Kirkus Best Children's Books, NCTE Notable

In the 1930s, Lewis's dad, Lewis Michaux Sr., had an itch he needed to scratch—a book itch. How to scratch it? He started a bookstore in Harlem and named it the National Memorial African Bookstore.

And as far as Lewis Michaux Jr. could tell, his father's bookstore was one of a kind. People from all over came to visit the store, even famous people—Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Langston Hughes, to name a few. In his father's bookstore people bought and read books, and they also learned from each other. People swapped and traded ideas and talked about how things could change. They came together here all because of his father's book itch. Read the story of how Lewis Michaux Sr. and his bookstore fostered new ideas and helped people stand up for what they believed in.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing
• Release date: Nov 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781467790451

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is the author of The Book Itch, as well as three Coretta Scott King Award-winning books: No Crystal Stair, Bad News for Outlaws, and Almost to Freedom. She is a former youth services librarian in New Mexico. Visit her online at vaundanelson.com.

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Reviews for The Book Itch

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seen through the eyes of Lewis Jr., this book recounts how Lewis Micheaux started his own bookstore in the heart of Harlem with the intention of helping the African-American community have a safe place to stay, read, and learn. Famous folks were known to stop in, including Micheaux's pal Malcolm X. While this book seemed like it would be a book about books, it was actually more about civil rights. That was certainly interesting and informative, although not was I was expecting. The author of the book is actually a relation of the bookstore's original founder/owner, which is a neat fact. The almost abstract illustrations are not really my style personally, although some may like them.

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If it's possible to have a biography of a bookstore, this is it, and a fascinating biography it is. Great art, great storytelling.

[pataustin_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lewis Micheux Jr. narrates the story of his dad, who loved books so much, he overcame overwhelming odds to open the National Memorial African Bookstore. Despite banks’ prognostication that “black people don’t read,” read they did, as people flocked to the store, where everyday folks rubbed shoulders with famous folks like Muhammad Ali and like Malcolm X, who often spoke at the store, bodyguards watching out for him. But for picking up his son from the skating rink at Rockefeller Center, Lewis Sr. could have been killed as he was to stand beside Malcolm X, the day he was shot. This deeply touching and personal account told by Micheaux’s great niece and winner of a Coretta Scott King illustrator award with dramatic paintings by R. Gregory Christie is an inspirational story that needs to be shared.