Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (January 1, 1996)Age: 9-12
The story is about a young African American girl who loves to hear stories from her grandma. Her favorite of the stories is the one about her grandma sneaking off into town when she was the young girls age. Her grandmothers story begins with her sneaking off to town one sizzling hot day, and she gets thirsty so she finds a drinking fountain near by. The only problem is the fountain has a "whites only" sign on it, but she thought she was fine after she took off her black shoes and stepped up onto the stool with her white socks. This begins a series of events regarding our countries (especially in Mississippi) prejudice and racist past.
This is a very strong piece of literature, and it is rich in important/meaningful lessons kids need to be discussing. I found this story very interesting and I could see myself reading this in the classroom. The conflict of the story begins when she takes a drink from a "whites only" water fountain, and a large white man throws her off the stool and says he is going to whip her. This was a very intense part of the story. After you see other African Americans stand up for the young girl and take a drink out of the fountain also. Even though this story is fiction I find it very realistic to the time period. It was acts like this that eventually led to civil rights. The author did a fabulous job with the plot because it was a very realistic plot, and it flowed really nicely together. I also thought the story within a story was a very good idea because the African American culture has a strong background in story telling, so her grandma passing this lesson/story down to her granddaughter is very realistic. The characterization throughout the story was good. You really get a sense of who this young girl is, but I have to say she is the only truly developed character. The only slight exceptions would be the chicken man and the large white man, but you don't really get to know them on a personal level like you do with the little girl. The setting of the story was perfect because that was Mississippi back in the 50's and 60's.
The illustrations were very well down. They went with the story very well, and allowed you to put a face to the little girl and community. The pictures added a realistic touch to the story. Without the illustrations I feel that the story would be lacking a little bit of power. I would use this book in my classroom to discuss the issues African Americans faced in the civil rights era. It would be a nice transition into a history unit about that time period.
This is a story for anyone, but I would say it was written for grades 3rd-6th because there are a lot of strong critical topics to discuss. This could be tough with any younger children.
Thanks for reading y'all!
Gorms
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