What early readers are saying about Carrie’s Children
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Advanced Reviewer - Karishma Kolhatkar
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ February 6, 2026
Carrie’s Children is a moving tribute that a son pays to his mother and the generations that shaped her. Through a clear chronological narrative, we see how Clarence’s grandmother raised Carrie with strength and wisdom, values that Carrie then passed on to her own children.
While I was familiar with the Civil Rights Movement, I did not fully grasp the depth of inequality and segregation described in the book. This made the story especially powerful for me. Even when some historical details were new, I deeply connected with the themes of discrimination, dignity, equal opportunity, and a mother’s unwavering love.
From the lively home on Saint Ann Street to the strong community built on Sylvan Street, the story highlights resourcefulness, hard work, generosity, and the importance of caring for others. Carrie’s work as a nurse and midwife reflects her belief that caring for people is sacred. Her dedication also ensured that her children received a strong Catholic education, which helped them excel academically and build meaningful careers. Clarence’s experience as an altar boy offered valuable life lessons and showed how faith and music can be universal forces that shape character and belonging. The sense of community — shared traditions, collective support, and everyday togetherness — is especially heartwarming.
Even today, this story feels deeply relevant. In a time when many of us struggle with isolation, reduced communication, and the constant urge to want more, the book reminds us of what truly matters: parental love, community, compassion, hard work, and our shared humanity. Above all, it remains the story of a remarkable woman whose strength and values continue to resonate. I enjoyed reading this book!
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Advanced Reviewer – Sina
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ February 2, 2026
Inviting and truly compelling. An easy and beautiful read! I felt myself wanting to be in Carrie’s home, doing, learning and being loved. Where values, pride and hard work were all ingredients of a job well done. It seemed as though I was walking the streets of Selma with her as each sentence became alive. Neighbors were extended families that took care of each other with dignity, belonging and a love for Community that was entrenched in their souls. The strength of our Matriarchs is what carries us forward. A stern hand, a loving spirit and a desire to give us their very best in preparation for a world that may be unwelcoming, but one we would not be afraid to challenge. Carrie’s Children….A must read !
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Advanced Reviewer – Susan Goggins, Author
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ February 1, 2026
In his wonderful memoir “Carrie’s Children,” Clarence Jones, Jr., shares the challenges and triumphs of his upbringing in segregated Selma, Alabama, “a world where responsibilities came early and excuses never.” At the center of the story is the inimitable Carrie Louise Lundy Jones, who against all odds because a nurse and midwife while raising nine children. Clarence Jones’s evocative prose will have you swearing you can smell the corn fritters cooking and the pink roses blooming in Carrie’s garden. You’ll be feeling the pain and frustration of the Jim Crow south and the heartbreak of the men who returned from having risked their lives serving their county on foreign soil only to return to a U.S.A. that still treated them as second class. You get an insider's view of the civil rights movement. You’ll experience a world where survival depended on the folks in your community taking care of one another, whether it was sharing extra food or laboring together with pea-shelling parties and neighborhood canning and preserving events. Jones’s book reminds us that children even today can learn valuable lessons through everyday acts of kindness, generosity, and service.
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Advanced Reviewer – Barbara Joels, Language Teacher
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ February 1, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Carrie's Children" by Clarence Jones. I find it suitable for adult and young adult readers, and it is an excellent book to share in the classroom.
Though I was familiar with news about the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, the author offers a personal perspective on life in an African American community in Selma and on how the Movement began and evolved.
The tone of this book was informative and inspiring, telling it like it was.
I enjoyed learning about Clarence Jones's childhood and the strong influence of his dedicated, hardworking maternal grandmother, mother, father, church, and community in his upbringing. Hard work, accountability, service and caring were valued.
As a single mother, I could identify with and admire the intelligent, pragmatic, resourceful way Carrie found opportunities for herself and her children in education and in the values she wanted her children to live by. I also admired how she trusted her children's judgment as she allowed and supported them in finding their way in life. The contributions of neighbors, friends, church and family in the upbringing of Carrie's children — the interconnectedness and tradition of other mothering -- was acknowledged and appreciated throughout this memoir, as it provided stability and security for them and a firm foundation that they could bring to the world as they grew up and left home.
Thank you, Clarence, for this very readable and inspiring memoir!
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Advanced Reviewer – Elizabeth Venable
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ February 1, 2026
This is a tender-hearted memoir of the author’s life being raised in a small, segregated black community in Selma, Alabama, during the emergence of the civil rights movement.
He transports the reader into this community by describing the day to day life of ordinary folks whose ordinary interactions are actually extraordinary acts of service, dedication, care and love for one another which help the people of this neighborhood thrive under challenging and difficult circumstances.
He explains the important values that were woven into his life and his sibling’s lives that were passed down from his grandmother, Hettie (a mother of nine children) and his mother, Carrie (a mother of ten children) and how these values impacted their Selma community.
This book will inspire the reader to carry on the values of diligence, excellence and supporting others in their own lives.
Thank you for sharing your story, Clarence, and encouraging us that our small, good acts of support and love do make a lasting, positive impact on others.