Roll+of+Thunder,

Summary:
The Logan family works hard to keep the small piece of farmland they own. They endure many racial injustices. The children are harassed by a school bus full of white children, so they dig out a ditch in the road, trapping the bus and breaking the axle. Cassie, one of the Logan daughters, takes a trip to the nearby town of Strawberry and is shocked by the disrespect she is greeted with. Meanwhile, more serious problems are developing. The Wallace boys burn some local black men, killing one, and so the Logan family begins a boycott of their store. []

Lexile: 860

Book Talk from Booktalks Quick and Simple:
The year is 1933, and Cassie is a young African-American girl attending Great Faith Elementary and Secondary School in Mississippi. Times are hard for all during the country’s depression, but blacks are especially hit hard in this rural area. Prejudice, fear and talks of night hangings surround Cassie and her brothers, Stacey, Christopher John and Little Man. Cassie’s family is unusual for this area, for they are landowners. Mr. Granger, the white bigot, is jealous of this land, for his family once owned it, and it never stops trying to intimidate and scheme Cassie’s father and Uncle Hammer out of the land. Cassie’s family has pride and the other African-Americans have grown tired of the unfair treatment by Granger and his associates. Quietly, a boycott is organized against the local storeowners who overcharge the black community. The boycott is challenged when African-American workers are threatened with losing their jobs. Still, the boycott continues with supporters both black and white. The book made me angry at the prejudice expressed, upset me when foolish choices were made and helped me see how hard it must have been for an African-American in rural 1933 Mississippi. (Melissa Bowman, Armstrong Middle School)

More info:
Click these links to get an idea of the themes in this book: [|Sharecroppers] [|Mob Violence, Ku Klux Klan] [|Segregation, Jim Crow Laws] [|Lynching]