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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Puffin Modern Classics) (Puffin Modern Classics) Review
User Submitted Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Puffin Modern Classics) (Puffin Modern Classics) ReviewsJuly 17, 2008 Excellent source to learn African American history in the 1930s This is a great book! It is well written and the story line is very easy to follow. This book was one of three books that was required summer reading for my daughter's 6th grade class and she loved it as well. It gave her a different perspective on the different and most often times unfair treatment African American received during the 1930s. I strongly recommend this book to every young person to learn a few of life's lessons. July 17, 2008 My Favorite Book This was my favorite book in the world as a child. I read it over and over, beginning I think in the 3rd grade. It was deeply moving and probably shaped who I am today. June 9, 2008 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry shows how in the South, African Americans were treated. One complaint about the whites and the African Americans where in danger of being sent to jail, losing land, and death. This story is told from a African American girl, Cassie Logan, and gives readers a taste of the Southern life she faced. May 29, 2008 Great Book I had to read this book for my freshman English class and I loved it. If your realy into history this is the book for you. It's exciting from the start and really gives you an insight to what it was like for colored people years ago. Great book I recomend this book to everyone! May 10, 2008 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry By Mildred D. Taylor Published by Scholastic, Inc., 1976 210 pages Historical fiction Reading levels: 6.9 grade level equivalent, 920 Lexile level Mildred Taylor's novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a captivating story told from the perspective of a fourth grader, Cassie, struggling to understand the segregation that plagues her cotton-growing region of Mississippi during the early 1930s. The story begins as Cassie and her siblings trudge down the dusty dirt road on their way to the first day of school. The first injustice readers experience is seen through the eyes of Cassie's younger brother, Little Man. The first grader refuses to take a textbook when he discovers that the books have already been used by white students. Only after 11 years of use were the books old and ragged enough to be given to "nigra" students, as written inside the covers. In the next chapter, Cassie and her three brothers deal with the injustice of the school bus. The bus passes them on their walk to school every morning, but it is only for white students. Yet after carrying out a trick to get back at the bus driver, the siblings are afraid they will be found out and will receive the same fate as a family of black neighbors who were burned after making retaliatory comments to a white storekeeper. Throughout the story, fear of who these "night men" will attack next keeps Cassie's family on edge, particularly because the family owns land desired by one of the involved white men. Cassie next experiences the injustices of segregation when she gets to take her first trip to town with her grandmother. There, Cassie and her brothers must wait in the store as white people, even a young girl, are helped before them. Upon leaving the store, Cassie gets herself into trouble when she refuses to step off the sidewalk to let another girl her age walk by. Cassie is also reluctant to apologize and address the white girl as "Miss." Throughout the story, Cassie's older brother Stacey repeatedly gets into trouble because of the lying and tricks of his friend T.J. By the end of the story, T.J. is known as a thief and has made friends with two local white boys. Those two boys wind up getting T.J. into enough trouble that the night men once again set out to wreak havoc on T.J.'s family and other local black families. Only a clever turn of events is able to prevent dire outcomes in the enthralling final two chapters of the novel. While a great read overall, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a bit confusing for two reasons. First, the characters are at times hard to sort out. It can be difficult to keep Cassie, her siblings, and their young friends straight. It also can be difficult to keep the local families involved in the story straight. The novel is difficult to understand also when Cassie's grandmother explains how the family came to own the farmland around which much of the story's conflict revolves. However, with careful attention, the characters and history can be sorted out, and the story's interesting events will keep you reading. If you are looking for a page-turner, this book will not disappoint you. Mildred Taylor's vivid descriptions give her characters distinct personalities that bring the novel to life. The novel is a chain of short stories that are entertaining enough to stand alone, but together carry readers to the novel's thrilling climax and conclusion. Taylor's novel effectively conveys the experiences of children who are just beginning to learn how segregation affects their lives. Readers come to deeper understanding of the hatefulness and unfairness of many white people's treatment of their black neighbors during the early 1930s. Taylor also includes enough explanation of the history of slavery and segregation for readers to fully understand the events. Even if segregation is not a topic of great interest to you, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry will hook you till the last page. A Newberry medal winner, this is a famous book that everyone should read. I assure you that it is well worth your purchase. May 9, 2008 Beautifully written My 13 year old daughter was reading this book for school. So I thought I would join her. What better way to connect with your child than share the love of books. So I read the first page. I wasn't too sure about it, but 6 hours later, I am done with it. I couldn't put it down. Cassie is a young African-American girl who is naive to her era and the position of her race during that time. All the characters you feel so drawn into. Her dad works on a railroad, but brings another man in to stay with his family while he is away. There have been "night men" coming and doing horrible things to different families and he wants someone to protect his family. The children learn that life isn't fair at all. I couldn't get over Little Man's spirit. Jeremy was a true friend and it is sad that they couldn't be friends with him. T.J. was going a different road altogether. This book will stay with you and I am so glad I picked it up. You wonder if they hadn't decided to boycott the store, what would have happened. I hope my daughter enjoys this book as much as I did. I am so glad that they still read these kinds of books in school. April 5, 2008 Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry This is one of the "must reads" for all ages. It reminds of how far we have come and where we must never go again. It also is an opportunity to look into the past and see what it takes to create a strong family. That it takes work, sacrifice, loyalty and moral strength. I was moved on many levels by this book and highly recommend it to adults and young people. November 25, 2007 Okay This book is an attempt to be profound and deep, but it misses the mark just so slightly. You don't come away deep in thought and reflection that is probably intended. It is an average read. September 13, 2007 My new favorite book--great for kids AND adults I'm sad to say that I just now read this book for the first time (at age 30). I ordered it for my 5th-grade classroom and, of course, wanted to preview it first. I ended up reading it all in one night. I literally could not put it down. It was a hard book to read, due to its unflinchingly honest nature. Although the official suggested target audience for this book is 9-12, I often found myself wondering if my students could handle this almost brutal look at racism in the 1930s. Heck, MY stomach turned at certain points. Still, I suppose that my students NEED to know what life was like for blacks in the 1930s--and the fact that the story is told from the point of view of a little girl about their age will make for an even stronger impact, I think. I do give a heads-up to parents and teachers due to the repeated use of the "n" word; however, this book captivated me from start to finish and truly took my breath away. I think it's a story that every child and adult NEEDS to read. August 31, 2007 This was an excellent book I liked this book very much, because it had a good plot, explained a lot about blacks after the Civil War, and was very interesting. It was touching, and was hard to put down. I would recommend this book to anybody over 11. For more Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Puffin Modern Classics) (Puffin Modern Classics) reviews click here.
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