Review: “All About Madam C. J. Walker”
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All About Madam C. J. Walker
By A’Lelia Bundles
Published by Blue River Press: 2017
Available for purchase at Amazon
128 pp.
Historical biographies for young people can be hit or miss. Some books are too dry and dull to hold a young person’s interest, while others contain too much fiction and not enough historical accuracy. All About Madam C. J. Walker by A’Lelia Bundles is not only interesting to read, but is full of facts and historic details.
Written for young readers in 4th to 7th grade, the book chronicles the life of Madam C. J. Walker and her epic rise to become the most successful American businesswoman of the early twentieth century.
Who Was Madam C. J. Walker?
Born in 1867 on a Delta, Louisiana, plantation, Sarah Breedlove was the youngest of five siblings and the first person in her family to be born free. Sadly, she found herself orphaned before she was 7 years old. Having almost no formal education, Sarah was married and widowed with a small child by the time she was twenty. In 1888, she and her young daughter moved to St. Louis where her older brothers were barbers.
“I got my start by giving myself a start.”
Madam C. J. Walker, New York Times Magazine, November 1917
Desperate to treat her own scalp infection and hair loss, Sarah began testing ingredients to find a cure for baldness. She tried a variety of home remedies and eventually found success with products made by Annie Pope-Turnbo. She liked the products so much that she became a sales agent for Pope-Turnbo.
After moving to Denver, Colorado, Sarah began experimenting with creating her own hair care product. In 1906, she married her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker, and began calling herself “Madam C. J. Walker.” Soon after, she started selling her hair ointment as “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower,” which became a popular product.
Madam C. J. Walker’s business grew into the Lelia College of Beauty (named for her daughter), where she trained employees to sell her products. This eventually became an international business, with customers from all over the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean. Madam C. J. Walker provided high-paying, quality jobs for African American women, allowing them to work for themselves instead of “in someone else’s kitchen.”
By the time of her death in 1919, Madam C. J. Walker was considered the “wealthiest black woman in America,” and among the first self-made American female millionaires. Her products are still sold throughout the United States.
A Look Inside
There are nine chapters in the book covering the life of Madam C. J. Walker from birth to death, as well as her legacy after death. The typeface is large, and the pages have enough white space to be readable by a young person who is just beginning to read chapter books. Sentences are simple, yet provide plenty of details. Hand-drawn illustrations by Kirsten Halvorsen accompany the text on almost every page and include descriptive captions.
A page of Select Quotes by Madam C. J. Walker can be found at the end of the book, as well as a timeline of Madam C. J. Walker’s life next to a timeline of world events. A glossary is included to help young readers understand the more difficult words and concepts. The book is indexed to help readers quickly find what they need.
About the Author
Author A’Lelia Bundles writes biographies about the amazing women in her family: entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker and Harlem Renaissance icon A’Lelia Walker. On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker is a New York Times Notable Book and the non-fiction source for Self Made, the fictional four-part Netflix series starring Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer. She is at work on her fifth book, The Joy Goddess of Harlem: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, about her great-grandmother whose parties, arts patronage and travels helped define the era.
Final Thoughts
Not only was Madam C. J. Walker a successful businesswoman, but she was a generous philanthropist, a political activist, and an empowering inspiration to her employees. Young readers are sure to enjoy learning All About Madam C. J. Walker.
Find out more about Madam C. J. Walker on her official website.
A version of this article first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Spring, 2019). It is reprinted here with permission.
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