Main Street

A girl learns how the history of redlining has affected her neighborhood in this intergenerational picture book about racism, community action, and resilience by two New York Times bestselling authors.

Olivia can’t wait to invite her friends to the 62nd annual Main Street Block Party. But when she does, Alison says that Main Street isn’t safe. Olivia’s eyes fill with tears, and she begins to wish that she didn’t live on Main Street at all.

Then, Olivia learns what happened when her neighbor Ms. Effie was about her age: Ms. Effie’s family was also told that Main Street wasn’t good enough. The bank wouldn’t give them a loan to buy their house based on where it fell on a color-coded map: Mostly Black people lived near Main Street, so the neighborhood was colored red on the map. To fight back against this practice called redlining, Ms. Effie’s family became friends with their neighbors and got organized.

With vibrant illustrations by David Wilkerson and engaging text by Britt Hawthorne and Tiffany Jewell, Main Street celebrates what might happen when neighbors come together for a common goal and everybody pitches in.

Features backmatter with an author’s note about the full history of redlining and ideas for further engagement with your community!