Troubled Waters: A River’s Journey Toward Justice
by Carole Boston Weatherford; illus. by Bryan Collier
Primary, Intermediate    Bloomsbury    40 pp.
1/26    9781681198187    $20.99

In a powerful first-person narrative, the Alabama River recounts its role as a witness to pivotal moments in American history—from its geological origins to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The river, whose name in Choctaw means “Thicket Clearers,” reflects on centuries of transformation: the arrival of Europeans in 1702, forced migration of the Cherokee during the Trail of Tears, and exploitation of enslaved Africans in the cotton-rich Black Belt. It observes the Civil War, the era of sharecropping, and the long struggle for civil rights. The narrative reaches a crescendo with the Selma voting rights movement, notably the violence of Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where peaceful marchers were met with brutal force. Yet the movement surged forward, “a mighty river, coursing through hearts and minds.” Weatherford’s authentic and innovative storytelling transforms history into a deeply resonant experience. Her use of lines from Negro spirituals adds emotional depth. Collier’s stunning mixed-media illustrations—acrylic on canvas layered with watercolor collage—visually echo themes of perseverance and hope, with striking use of blue throughout. A “History Along the Alabama River” timeline and illustrator note are appended.

From the January/February 2026 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.