Synergy: Green Book Guidebooks

The Negro Motorist Green Book was a guide book produced for African American travelers. Published during the era of Jim Crow laws between 1936 and 1966 when discrimination and segregation were widespread, the books helped travelers identify businesses and services friendly to African American visitors.

Read the recently published nonfiction book for youth then learn more at the website.

OVERGROUND RAILROAD by Candacy Taylor tells the story of the Green Book, a guide for African American travelers in mid-20th century America. This young adult adaptation traces the history of the Green Book and the courage of both travelers and businesses that stood up against racial segregation. Filled with stunning photographs, fascinating interviews, and engaging narrative, this compelling work of youth nonfiction brings the barriers and hazards faced by Black travelers to life for middle grade readers. The book includes an author’s note, endnotes, bibliography, timeline, and index.

NAVIGATING THE GREEN BOOK from the New York Public Library invites readers to visualize a trip using the Green Books and view a map of data from the books. Users can also browse 21 volumes of the Green Books from 1937 to 1964.

To visit the website, go to http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/.

THE NEGRO MOTORIST GREEN BOOK is an online exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution. Users can learn about the Green Book, examine an online exhibit, and explore stories of people who used the Green Book.

To visit the website, go to https://negromotoristgreenbook.si.edu/.

ARC courtesy of Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS Kids.

Thanks to ABRAMS Kids, Amulet Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

From 1936-1967 The Negro Travelers' Green Book/The Travelers' Green Book provided Black travelers with a list of hotels and restaurants that not only served them without discrimination but were safe spaces as well. Having read and enjoyed books such as Ruth and the Green Book, I was familiar with the topic, but learned so much more by reading this book. I learned more about sundown towns, the treatment of Pullman porters and train maids, and even about a drive-in cave that was run by the KKK! This book would be a wonderful addition to any family, classroom, or library collection. It would also be great for middle and high school history teachers to use as a resource as well.

This was an incredibly well-researched and well-written account of a little-known guidebook that helped African Americans navigate a segregated country. The author, who is African-American, relates her experiences researching this book, while telling of true accounts that occurred for travelers when automobile travel became popular. This lent a sort of voice from the future, telling how things have changed and yet have also stayed the same or become worse for Black people.

I feel that this book should be required reading for anyone who wants to get a full view of how Jim Crow laws affected people and how white supremacy is so hard-wired that even attempted solutions have brought new obstacles for African American communities in the US. The afterward in which the author discusses the Green Book in today's world and why it doesn't quite fill the gaps needed was a jarring reminder that we live in a very racially-tinged world and we all share the burden of needing to make things right.

I highly recommend the Young Readers version for all ages, as the author included discussion points and a glossary that will be helpful for readers who want to get the full picture.

The abundance of pictures not only helps the book go by fast, but provided an integral visual image of what these places looked like now and what they looked like then, and I think especially for white readers, it places African Americans in places in history that white readers would assume they were excluded from. Wonderfully researched and perfect adapted for Young Adults, this is a must purchase for libraries, and a must read.

I loved this book and all the pictures in it. I think it really brings to light the history of American and how we can move forward into the future of equality.

This was very well researched and covered a lot of additional history of the Black experience in the US, not just travel. I loved that the author traveled to different places mentioned in the Green Book, and took photographs of places that were listed in the travel guide, very few of which still exist. The personal connections to her family were interesting as well. The small things that you would only know about if you lived through an era, like the fact that many Black men who had nicer or newer cars kept chauffeur's caps in the car in case they were stopped by the police, are invaluable. The photographs are excellent, and this book has excellent, in depth coverage of an important period in time.

I'm fascinated by the digitized collection of the original guide books accessible through the New York Public Library:

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/the-green-book#/?tab=about

Immaculately researched and detailed. This book does an excellent job showing the connections between personal and local stories and history with cultural and national stories, stats, etc. The author does a great job both showing and telling history as well as connecting it with the present.

After reading Nic Stone’s Clean Getaway, I was intrigued by The Green Book and its history, so naturally I was thrilled to see this title! This book gives a deeper look at a rich legacy that many have never heard of. I appreciated the carefully organized chapters and informative tone. I would recommend to ages 13+.

This young adult adaptation of the original Overground Railroad illuminates through text, images, and period photographs a lesser-known aspect of racial segregation: the challenges encountered by Black travelers in America prior to the 1970s. From "sundown towns" where Blacks were not welcome after 6 p.m. to many white-owned hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and repair shops, Black travelers were denied services. The Green Book, published between the 1930s and the 1960s, served as a guidebook to Black motorists, enabling them to identify towns and businesses they could frequent without discriminatory treatment. Author Candacy Taylor revisited the sites listed in the original Green Books, documenting the state of the sites today.

I was unaware of the extent to which Black travelers experienced difficulties with travel; such challenges extended well beyond the middle of the 20th century. In that regard, I found this book fascinating and enlightening, though sad. The images from the Green Books and the author's photographs tell their own stories making them worthy of study. My only criticism is about the length of the book. I think young readers would be better served by less content. At 413 pages, this book seems a little overwhelming for all but those with the keenest interest in the topic.

I opted for this book because I remember there had been a movie about the Green Book and I was interested in what it was about. I found this book to be very eye opening and I think this is the type of history that needs to be highlighted more as I had no idea about any of this happening