Freedom School, Yes!

Author/Illustrator: Amy Littlesugar/Floyd Cooper
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
Grade Level: 2nd-5th

 A young girl named Jolie awoke when a brick flew threw her window. This wouldn't have happened if her mom had not volunteered to house a freedom school teacher. These teachers were as young as 18 coming to teach children about who they are and their history. Everyone is Jolie's community was against this except her mom. Few children attended the classes at first. Within the first few days people had burned the church down because they did not want this white lady teaching them. However, this did not stop them. The classes got bigger and they decided to rebuild the church and the new freedom school. Jolie grew to love school and took an interest in a mathematician who loved stars as much as Jolie did. As the community began to accept the freedom teacher more people attended the school and got involved. Jolie's uncle shared something special with her, a medal. He was awarded a medal for saving the life of a white man at war. He states that though he saved a white man he is still not allowed to sit next to one. He tells Jolie, "You all got to grow up and change that."

This is a great read. The print on the pages are small and there are a lot of character so I think this book would be best fit for student from second grade to fifth. If I used this book in my classroom I would use it to teach students about civil rights. This book was set in the 1960s in Mississippi when civil rights were still not granted to black people.