Montgomery and the Case of the Golden Key

Tracy Occomy Crowder, 2023

Tracy Occomy Crowder lives in Chicago and is a community organizer. Her community organizing centers around issues of housing, education, and racial equity. Her book, Montgomery and the Case of the Golden Key was awarded the New Visions Award by Lee & Low Books.

Montgomery and the Case of the Golden Key is an endearing mystery set in Chicago. Monty, the main character is ten years old and lives in the historic Washington Park neighborhood in the South Side of Chicago. It is summertime for Monty, and he has quite a few adventures. Barack Obama is the president. There is also talk of the Olympics potentially taking place in Chicago, which Monty thinks would be wonderful.

Monty discovers that his parents purchased him a metal detector for his birthday, but when he breaks it, his parents tell him he has to make money to purchase a new one. Monty does this by helping out people in the neighborhood. One thing he discovers with the metal detector is a golden key in his neighbor, Ms. Jenkins’ bed of flowers. The key is in a mysterious pouch which his friends think is ghost dust because of the neighborhood stories about ghosts. While Monty is working to get the money to get a new metal detector, he is also on a journey to find out the mystery of the golden key. Little does he know that two of his neighbors, Ms. Jenkins and the “lady with the purple flowers” who he is helping out, both hold the key to helping him discover what exactly the mystery behind the golden key is.

What works: The real-life setting of the story makes it very real for the reader. Monty’s neighborhood is a real neighborhood in Chicago. President Obama was the president when Chicago bid to host the Summer Olympics. Also, some of the historical elements that we learn about in the story will teach children history that they were not aware of before. Children and parents alike will enjoy this story.

What doesn’t work: At the end of the story, a lot happens in a short period of time. While it does not take away from the story, perhaps some of the community-organizing actions could have been built up more throughout the story. However, this is not the story’s focus, and it is just right for the age group it is intended for. I would love to see a sequel to the book.

Pass It OR Grab It?: Grab it. This is a great mystery and teaches little-known Black history that children will not learn in school.

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Vivian Bynoe

Vivian Bynoe, MLIS is an Assistant Professor and Head of Reference and Instruction at Lane Library, Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus. As the liaison to the College of Education and Social Sciences, she works closely with professors to promote information literacy skills in students. She is a member of The American Library Association and active in the Georgia Library Association. Her work with promoting literacy began prior to her academic career when she worked in the children’s department of a public library in Charlotte, North Carolina. There she developed an expertise in readers’ advisory for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. She is a fellow of The Red Clay Writing Institute at The University of Georgia. Her other interests include promoting critical literacy, motivating and educating non-traditional students, assisting underserved communities in gaining access to information, and promoting diversity initiatives in the library and the larger community. Vivian Bynoe can be contacted at: vbynoe@georgiasouthern.edu