Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles

Each week I find a new favorite picture book.  Freedom Summer, written by Deborah Wiles and illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue is my new favorite.  It is a great read-aloud for all ages.  It is an informative story that needs to be told over and over again as well as remembered.

Joe and John Henry are best friends.  They both love to play marbles, eat ice pops and swim in Fiddler’s Creek.  And, when they grow up, they’re both planning to be firemen.   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 that dance around the porch light at night.”  Although the boys see nothing wrong with one another’s skin color, their small southern community sees things differently.  In the early 1960’s, there are some things they just can’t do together.  John Henry’s not allowed to swim in the town pool or buy his ice pops at Mr. Mason’s General Store.  When laws are passed to end segregation, the boys thought it would mean big changes.  Unfortunately things didn’t change exactly the way the two boys dreamed. 

History came alive for me in this book.  This book put names and faces to one of the most intense struggles our country has ever faced.  It described how many racist people went through great lengths in order to prevent integration under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  There were whites all across the South who refused to cooperate and open their doors in equality for all.  Instead, they found it better to close establishments, treat blacks poorly, or come up with other loopholes – like shutting down a public pool by filling it up with tar.

This book is a great lesson on history as it touches on the emotional impact of civil rights and integration.  This book was not only wonderfully told, but it is also educationally sound.  It is a story of racism, hatred as well as friendship.  I plan to use this book next year during Black History Month. I learned in Chapter 6 that historical fiction picture books, “provides a way to introduce the historical fiction genre to younger children.”  “Connecting humanity to historical times is strength of the focus of the picture book topic and format for disseminating the personal side of history.”  This 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.  I hope that while this book focus on segregation, my students will also be able to relate it to issues of bullying and prejudice.  The teachable moments from using this book are endless.