Parallel Lives: Biographies of Florence Mills and Lou Gehrig

The two biographies that I chose to read for the assignment are Harlem’s Little Blackbird by Renee Watson, and Lou Gehrig by David A. Adler. These two biographies are very similar, and very different in so many ways. Harlem’s Little Blackbird is about Florence Mills, who was born in 1896 to parents that were former slaves. At an early age she knew she had a passion to sing, and grew up performing with her sisters who were once called the Trio. Once she branched off on her own, people began to be captured by her dancing and singing, which then led her to Broadway in the 1920’s. It was a rough time for someone of her race to become famous, and she was getting scrutinized wherever she went. She did not give up though. She was the bigger person and began to work for civil rights, and helped the poor and

Even though they are written for children, the authors and illustrators did a very good job creating them for anyone to read and get informed about the main characters. I think that the two characters, Florence Mills and Lou Gehrig, were portrayed and positioned really well. As a reader, you really get an understanding of how each character lived, and what struggles they were faced with as they got older, and how they might have overcome them. Florence Mills had to face the reality of racism when all she wanted to do was show what she was passionate about, which was singing and dancing. That didn’t stop her though. She was brave, and did everything she could to get herself noticed. Lou Gehrig on the other hand was one of the best baseball players that lived. He was hardworking, and loved the sport he played. He did not let the disease he got diagnosed with stop him from being apart of the team he was on for 14 years. That is what made everyone love him so much. Though he couldn’t play, he wanted to do whatever he could before he couldn’t anymore. He showed so much compassion for what made him