Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America

The incredible and little-known story of Sarah Rector, once the wealthiest Black girl in America, from Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner Tonya Bolden.

The inspiration for the movie Sarah's Oil, the major motion picture from Amazon MGM Studios.

Searching for Sarah Rector tells the true story of a young Black girl born in Indian Territory (land in today's Oklahoma) in the early 1900s. Author Tonya Bolden sets Rector's rags-to-riches tale against the backdrop of American history, including the creation of Indian Territory; the making of Oklahoma, with its Black towns and boomtowns; and the wild behavior of many greedy and corrupt adults.

At the age of eleven, Sarah was a very rich young girl. Even so, she was powerless . . . helpless in the whirlwind of drama--and danger--that swirled around her. Then one day word came that she had disappeared.

This is her story, and the story of other children like her, filled with ups and downs, bizarre goings-on, and a heap of crimes.

Out of a trove of primary documents, including court and census records, as well as interviews with family members, Bolden painstakingly pieces together the events of Sarah's life.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Published: 01/07/2014
ISBN: 9781419708466
Pages: 80
Weight: 1.65lbs
Size: 10.10h x 10.00w x 0.90d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2013
School Library Journal 01/01/2014 pg. 118
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2014 pg. 258
Essence 02/01/2014 pg. 60
Shelf Awareness 01/24/2014
Booklist 02/01/2014 pg. 58
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2014 - Recommended, Satisfactory

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 164233 / Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America
Reading Level: 6.9 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 2