Freedom Summer
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wiles,
Deborah. 2001. Freedom summer. Ill. Jerome Lagarrigue. New York, NY: Atheneum
Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689830165
- PLOT SUMMARY
Freedom
Summer is a story
about two young best friends, Joe & John Henry, that are growing up
together in a southern US town. They love to do everything together and enjoy a
lot of the same things; swimming, playing marbles, ice pops, and they both want
to grow up and become firemen.
These boys
have grown accustomed to doing things a little differently because they aren’t
usually allowed in the same places. Joe is white and John Henry is black. At
this time in the south black people weren’t allowed to enter or use the same
places white people were. They worked around it by making the creek into a pool
and Joe always going in alone to buy the ice pops, but they were both very
excited to get a chance to swim together and do everything else they’d wanted
to do in that town when this law separating them changed.
The law
may have changed overnight, but people don’t. The swimming pool was covered in
asphalt instead of desegregating. John Henry was understandably disappointed, and Joe was too, but he still decided he “wanted to see this town with John Henry’s
eyes.” The story ends on a hopeful note, and the two boys enter Mr. Mason’s
store together for the first time.
- CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Freedom
Summer was introduced
with the facts that inspired the story. This adds credibility and authenticity to the story being told. The boys that were briefly described are
interested in the things a lot of little boys are interested in. They wanted to
swim, play, eat tasty treats, and had dreams for when they grew up. The boys
also cared about each other deeply and made sacrifices to be able to play
together. All the information presented is based on real events that the author
experienced or heard about in her lifetime. The problems were presented clearly
and simply giving students the opportunity to understand these complex issues.
Each place described or mentioned was a place that brought the boys together or
kept them apart.
The colors
used in the illustrations are bright and the strokes are feathery. It’s all
fuzzy, but when you catch a glimpse of the faces you can feel the emotions; the
disappointment, anger, fear, determination, and joy. The repeating “He’s not
allowed.” Really speaks to the injustice of the situation. The repeated actions
add a fun element to the exciting parts “step-step-stepping, run-run-running”
Some southern twang is sprinkled throughout decorating the conversations and
adding to the element of the times. Judgment, injustice, and friendship are
themes presented that also resonate in our own times.
- REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
John
Steptoe Award - Illustrator
Reviewed
in Booklist: “The boy's voice, presented in punchy, almost poetic
sentences, feels overly romanticized, even contrived in places. It's the illustrations
that stun. In vibrantly colored, broad strokes, Lagarrigue paints riveting
portraits of the boys, particularly of John Henry, that greatly increase the
story's emotional power. Beautiful work by an illustrator to watch.”
Starred
review in Horn Book Guide: “The text, though concise, is full of nuance,
and the oil paintings shimmer with the heat of the South in summer.”
Starred
review in Kirkus Reviews: “Teachers and parents could use this book as a
quiet but powerful introduction to the prejudice experienced by many Americans.
Vibrant full-page paintings by talented French-born artist Lagarrigue capture
both the palpable heat of southern summer days and the warmth of the boys'
friendship”
Starred
review in Library Talk: “This is an excellent book to use when focusing
on the Civil Rights movement in America. Through the eyes of the two friends,
history will come alive for present-day students. Highly Recommended.”
Reviewed
in Publishers Weekly: “Set in Mississippi during the summer of 1964,
this affecting debut book about two boys-one white, the other
African-American-underscores the bittersweet aftermath of the passage of the
Civil Rights Act.”
Review in School
Library Journal: “A powerful read-aloud for introducing history or sparking
discussion.”
- CONNECTIONS
*This
book can start conversations about segregation, the civil rights movement, prejudice,
and more.
*Invite students to research the civil rights movement
and the act that was mentioned in the book.
*Invite students to write a letter to one of the boys
asking them any questions they may have or sharing their favorite part of the
story.
*Other historical fiction picture books that take
place in the civil rights era:
Weatherford, Carole Boston. Freedom on the menu:
the Greensboro sit-ins. ISBN 9780142408940
Evans,
Shane. We march. ISBN 9781250073259
Reynolds,
Aaron. Back of the bus. ISBN 9780147510587
Birtha,
Becky. Grandmama's pride. ISBN 9780807530221
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