Author: Carole Boston
Illustrator: Jerome Lagarrigue
Publisher and Year: Puffin Books, 2005
Number of pages: 29
Tags/Themes: Culture, Diversity, Family, Historical Fiction, Picture Book, 2-3 , Olivia Ruff
Genre: Historical Fiction
Descriptive Annotation: This picture book is told from the perspective of a child during the Greensboro sit-ins. The child’s older siblings are participating in the protests, and by the end of the book they are served at a diner where they used to only serve white people. There is a description of the sit-in’s from the men who originally did it.
Classroom Application: This book would be appropriate to read to younger students around 2-3rd graders. The book is a good introduction to civil rights, and it is told from a child’s perspective which makes it easier to understand what is happening. I would use it as a way to explain some of the civil rights problems back then, and use it to make the students reflect how we fairly treat others.
Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: The book would be a great way to introduce civil rights to students who are younger. A teacher could use it to begin discussion about how to treat others kindly and talk about maybe things that we do now that aren’t fair to others. Two quotes: “It sounded as if he believed God was on our side” (9) and “Sister and Brother sipped coffee and I twisted on my stool while we waited for our meals” (29).