“All good things begin with a fundamental structure,” and thanks to his parents, so too did the life of Malcolm Little, a leading African-American Muslim and human rights activist who came to be known as Malcolm X. With a strong childhood foundation grounded in faith, hard work, and resilience, Malcolm learned powerful life lessons in perseverance and the reverence of knowledge despite the hardships and challenges African Americans faced during the Jim Crow era.  

Today, our children face an endless deluge of pop-culture icons and social media influencers, making biographies of true heroes critical to their upbringing as sound human beings. These stories direct our children’s hearts toward admirable character traits and ideas that are worth learning. This fantastic biography written by Malcolm’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz, does just that—earning our Gold Star for introducing young readers to a true American hero. Note: In order to fully appreciate the hardships his parents faced, it would be beneficial for readers to understand the historical context surrounding the childhood of Malcolm Little.