Everything's changing for 12-year-old Sarah Beth Willis. After her little sister Robin is hit by a car and seriously injured, everyone seems different somehow. Days on the farm aren't the same, and the simple fun of riding a bike or playing outside can be scary. And there's talk in town about the new sixth-grade teacher at Shady Creek. Word is spreading quickly -- Mrs. Smyre is like no other teacher anyone has ever seen around these parts. She's the first African American teacher.
It's 1969, and while black folks and white folks are cordial, having a black teacher at an all-white school is a strange new happening. For Sarah Beth, there are so many unanswered questions. What is all this talk about Freedom Riders and school integration? Why can't she and Ruby become best friends? And who says school isn't for anybody who wants to learn -- or teach? In a world filled with uncertainty, one very special teacher shows her young students and the adults in their lives that change invites unexpected possibilities.
"Forced to leave her home and start over on her grandparents' farm, Sarah must come to grips with her guilt about her sister, her anger and confusion about Ruby Lee, and the uncertainty of relationships among whites and blacks in the rural South. Balancing the heavier topics are home-style recipes, strong storytelling, and Southern charm, which will engage younger middle grade readers....Tenderly told, this appealing story explores racial tensions during a key moment of the civil rights movement." — Carol Connor, School Library Journal
Recommended Age | 8 - 12 |
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Author | Shannon Hitchcock |
ISBN | 0545782309 |
Publication Date | Jan 5, 2016 |
Publisher | Scholastic Press |
Language | English |