"A glorious poetic celebration of the teacher and students at a Connecticut school that defied mid-19th-century convention to educate African-American girls. ...Nelson's sonnets adhere to a strict form while Alexander's explore the boundaries of the form; each distills the powerful emotions inspired by the story. ...Cooper's soft pastel illustrations provide a muted counterpoint to the text, mixing depictions of school and students with images of the natural world in a lovely rhythm."
     —Kirkus Reviews

 "Twenty-four clear, beautiful poems in different voices tell the stirring history of white teacher Prudence Crandall, who defied bigotry. ...Alexander and Nelson, both Connecticut poets, use dramatic sonnets to tell how Crandall and her students braved resistance to “teach and learn." ...The images in their poems and in Cooper's quiet, dramatic pastel illustrations compellingly capture the haunting history."
     —Booklist

"Taking on the voices of individual students, Alexander and Nelson create a portrait of a determined community of learners, the poems escalating in drama as the young women face racial hatred, from poisoned well water to heir own Kristallnacht of broken glass and fire. Both poets play with the form, allowing readers to see the elasticity inherent in the exacting fourteen-line sonnet. However, what is always trenchantly clear is the power and worth of education, as when in "Fire from the Gods" Nelson acknowledges that "the Ancestors [are] tickled to death to see / a child they lived toward find her mind's infinity." Floyd Cooper's mixed-media paintings occasionally seem incongruously soft and pretty, but his spacious landscapes ground the book, and his portraits, figures often outlined in a vigorous blue pencil line, have a quiet dignity and elegance."
     —Horn Book

"The sonnet format is challenging but compelling. Each poem addresses an individual aspect of the story; therefore, the tone and cadence change depending upon the person speaking or the event being depicted. The introduction gives essential information, but readers with no background will still need help understanding the political, social, and historical context. Cooper’s pastel mixed-media illustrations sometimes illuminate the poems, but at other times seem solely decorative. His portraits for “Tao of the Trial" and “Miss Ann Eliza Hammond" are powerfully rendered, while the nature scenes add little to the poetic experience. The art’s sketchiness, however, does suit the poetic form. There are empty spaces in the pictures just as the language of the poetry leaves openness for readers’ interpretation. A heartfelt, unusual presentation, this book rewards patient readers."
     —School Library Journal

"The words are powerful as they celebrate the importance of education and hardships that the students endured to achieve it. The reader appreciates the courage of these women, facing the hostilities of the townsfolk. Floyd Cooper’s illustrations capture the moods of the poems and help tell the story of persecution and adversity that eventually forced the school’s closure. This book celebrates the women who risked everything to improve their lives. It can serve as an example for today’s youth for appreciating the opportunities for education that they have today regardless of race. Recommended."
     —Library Media Connection

"A little-known episode from American history, its parameters are, nevertheless, familiar. Alexander and Nelson choose to tell the tale in a different way through a collection of free-verse poems illustrated by Cooper’s understated yet evocative artwork. The story’s historical facts are set out in the book’s introduction. The poetry allows the readers to feel the drama of this tale of young people who desired education and self-improvement, the compassionate teacher willing to share her knowledge, and the incomprehensible intolerance of adults who eventually turned violent against schoolgirls and a young teacher."
     —Voice of Youth Advocates

"I hope that many students will read this book, and that like Crandall’s students, they too will have a permanent thirst for learning. Most of all, I hope they will be inspired to refuse to follow the ranks of those who drop before they can find their minds opening “into a flower whose being reaches, every waking hour."
     —Multicultural Review