Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness
by
Donna Janell Bowman
illustrated by
Daniel Minter
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Lee & Low Books
Imprint
Lee & Low
ISBN
9781620141489
Awards and Honors
Beehive Award 2019 Nominee
2018—2019 Prairie Pasque Book Award Winner
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award 2017, Rcommended Book
Booklist 2016 Editors’ Choice, Books for Youth, Middle Readers, Nonfiction
ALSC Notable Children’s Books 2017, Middle Readers
2016 Cybils Finalist, Elementary/Juvenile Nonfiction
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None
A biography of William “Doc” Key, a former slave and self-trained veterinarian, who taught his horse to read, write, and do math. Afterword, with photographs of Doc and Jim Key. Quotation sources. Author’s sources. Full-color illustrations rendered as linoleum block prints painted with acrylic.
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None
Details
Format
Page Count
48
AR
5.3: points 0.5
Lexile
910L
Genre
Nonfic
Scholastic Reading Counts
3
JLG Release
Jan 2017
Book Genres
Topics
Bill Key (1833–1909). Beautiful Jim Key (horse). Humane education. U.S. history. Horse training. U.S. horse trainers. Biography. Human-animal communication. Human-animal relationships.
Standard MARC Records
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Cover Art
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Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Booklist*, The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews*, Publishers Weekly*, School Library Journal
Praise & Reviews
School Library Journal
A profile of William “Doc” Key and his relationship with animals, specifically his skilled horse Jim. Key was born a slave in Shelbyville, TN, in the 1830s. After the Civil War, he stayed in Shelbyville and built a veterinary where he sold his homemade remedies, and became very successful. Referred to as “Doc” Key, he traveled extensively while pursuing various entrepreneurial goals. Key eventually trained a clumsy colt named Jim to amaze audiences with his uncanny ability to spell and do math. He donated portions of his proceeds to humane societies and was instrumental in raising awareness for the compassionate treatment of animals. Minter’s linoleum block prints, painted with acrylic, add the perfect historic feel to an incredible true story. The extensive back matter will be useful for student reports. VERDICT A solid purchase for most collections with an interest in biographies and animal rights.—Jennifer Steib Simmons, Anderson County Library, SC
Horn Book
William “Doc” Key was a self-taught veterinarian, businessman, and patent medicine salesman who was born into slavery in 1833 and became a free man after the Civil War. In 1889 his beloved horse Lauretta gave birth to the colt Jim, a sickly creature that nevertheless showed remarkable intelligence. With Doc’s gentle, noncoercive training, Jim learned to read, spell, write, and do sums, and thus became the star of Doc’s traveling shows. As their fame grew, the two teamed up with the country’s newly founded humane societies, raising money for the cause and inspiring about two million children to sign “the official Jim Key Pledge: ‘I promise always to be kind to animals.’” Bowman’s steady, natural narration pays close attention to the bond between Doc and Jim, including humorous details of Jim’s behavior, while incorporating the social conditions facing an emancipated black man in the latter part of the nineteenth century and Doc’s insistence on integrating the spaces where he and Jim performed. An intriguing afterword touches on Doc’s experiences during the Civil War and gives additional details about Jim’s feats of intelligence, although it fails to discuss the Clever Hans Effect (identified in 1907, a year after Doc and Jim’s retirement) and so misses the chance to suggest further topics of exploration. Minter’s enticing woodcut-style illustrations, marked by heavy black-scored lines for texture and rich greens, reds, and chocolate-browns, are lit by a golden glow that warms people and animals alike, the perfect medium to reflect Doc’s philosophy of kindness. anita l. burkam
Grades 2-6
Biography Elementary Plus
For Grades 2-6
Fascinating biographies and autobiographies will allow your elementary readers to look into the lives, thoughts, and accomplishments of the individuals who have shaped our world. And with 12 books per year, they'll discover a remarkable person each month.
14 books per Year
$297.36 per Year
Interests
Biographies,Diversity,Nonfiction,Science/STEAM
Grades 2-6
Biography Elementary Plus
14 books per Year
$297.36 per Year
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