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From Publishers Weekly
Set in Mississippi during the summer of 1964, Wiles's affecting debut children's book about two boysAone white and the other African-AmericanAunderscores the bittersweet aftermath of the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Rather than opening public pools, roller rinks and shops to African-Americans, many towns and private owners boarded up the doors. Wiles delivers her message incisively through the credible voices of her young characters, narrator Joe and his best friend, John Henry, whose mother works as housekeeper for Joe's family. Joe and John spend many hours swimming together in the creek because John is not allowed in the public pool, so on the day the Civil Rights Act is enacted, they visit the town pool together, excited about diving for nickels in the clear water. Instead they find a work crewAincluding John Henry's older brotherAfilling in the pool with asphalt. "John Henry's voice shakes. 'White folks don't want colored folks in their pool.' " The tale ends on an upbeat if tenuous note, as the boys walk together through the front door of a once-segregated shop to buy ice pops. Lagarrigue's (My Man Blue) softly focused, impressionistic paintings capture the lazy feel of summer days and affirm the bond between the two boys. The artist's close-up portraits of the boys' faces, as well as the body language of other characters, reinforce the narrative's powerful emotional pitch. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Ages 5-8. "John Henry Waddell is my best friend," begins the narrator of this story, set during a summer of desegregation in the South. John Henry is black and the narrator is white, so the boys swim together at the creek, rather than at the whites-only town pool, and the narrator buys the ice-cream at the segregated store. When new laws mandate that the pool, and everything else, must desegregate, the boys rejoice, until the town fills the pool with tar in protest and the narrator tries to see this town, "through John Henry's eyes." 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, who illustrated Nikki Grimes' My Man Blue (1999), 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. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
In the early 1960s the American South had long been a place where black Americans could not drink from the same drinking fountains as whites, attend the same schools, or enjoy the same public areas. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
In the early 1960s the American South had long been a place where black Americans could not drink from the same drinking fountains as whites, attend the same schools, or enjoy the same public areas. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Friendship for Freedom,
By A Customer
This review is from: Freedom Summer (Hardcover)
Freedom Summer, written by Deborah Wiles and illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue, is a wonderful book for all ages. Children can understand it, and adults will appreciate the message this book is trying to send. It is about a white boy whose name is Joe, and his best friend, John Henry, who is black. The book takes place in 1964 when there was still segregation, and Joe and John Henry live in the Deep South. They do everything together. When they go to get something from the store John Henry has to stay outside because he isn't allowed inside. One day when Joe and John Henry were at Joe's house they overheard his mom talking about the new law that was passed that made segregation illegal. They were so happy that they ran down to the town pool because now, finally, John Henry will be allowed to swim in it. They find out that some people aren't ready to change what they think just because of a new law. The people who own the pool have filled it with asphalt. They don't want black people to be able to swim in it. Joe and John Henry are so disappointed, but they decide to go enjoy whatever they can together. In the book the artwork is beautiful! I love all of the different colors that the artist uses. The pictures really help tell the story. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do!
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Color of Friendship,
This review is from: Freedom Summer (Hardcover)
Joe and John Henry are best friends. They both enjoy playing together and share a common love of swimming. It seems as nothing can separate these two, except race. John Henry's skin is "the color of browned butter" while Joe's skin is "the color of the pale moths." Although the boys see nothing wrong with one another's skin color, the small, rural, Southern community in which they live, sees things differently. FREEDOM SUMMER shows the lengths that racist people went through to prevent integration under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and how the friendship of two young boys transcended across racial barriers. The story is written in a manner that young children will be able to understand and relate to while the bold, colorful illustrations complement the story. Deborah Wiles has done an excellent job tackling the serious and touchy topic of racism in way that young children will be able to comprehend. Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Color of Friendship,
This review is from: Freedom Summer (Hardcover)
Joe and John Henry are best friends. They both enjoy playing together and share a common love of swimming. It seems as nothing can separate these two, except race. John Henry's skin is "the color of browned butter" while Joe's skin is "the color of the pale moths." Although the boys see nothing wrong with one another's skin color, the small, rural, Southern community in which they live, sees things differently. FREEDOM SUMMER shows the lengths that racist people went through to prevent integration under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and how the friendship of two young boys transcended across racial barriers. The story is written in a manner that young children will be able to understand and relate to while the bold, colorful illustrations complement the story. Deborah Wiles has done an excellent job tackling the serious and touchy topic of racism in way that young children will be able to comprehend. Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
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