Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In all Mildred D. Taylor's
unforgettable novels she recounts "not only the joy of growing up in a large
and supportive family, but my own feelings of being faced with segregation
and bigotry." Her Newbery Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
tells the story of one African American family, fighting to stay together
and strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and
betrayal in the Deep South of the 1930s. Nine-year-old Cassie Logan, growing
up protected by her loving family, has never had reason to suspect that any
white person could consider her inferior or wish her harm. But during the
course of one devastating year when her community begins to be ripped apart
by angry night riders threatening African Americans, she and her three
brothers come to understand why the land they own means so much to their
Papa. "Look out there, Cassie girl. All that belongs to you. You ain't never
had to live on nobody's place but your own and long as I live and the family
survives, you'll never have to. That's important. You may not understand
that now but one day you will. Then you'll see."
Twenty-five years after it was first published,
this special anniversary edition of the classic strikes as deep and powerful
a note as ever. Taylor's vivid portrayal of ugly racism and the poignancy of
Cassie's bewilderment and gradual toughening against social injustice and
the men and women who perpetuate it, will remain with readers forever. Two
award-winning sequels, Let the Circle Be
Unbroken and The Road to Memphis, and a long-awaited prequel,
The Land, continue the profoundly moving tale of the Logan family. (Ages
9 and older) --Emilie Coulter
From AudioFile
Mildred Taylor's Newbery
Award-winning book is the bittersweet and beautifully written story of the
Logans, a poor black family struggling through poverty and racism in
Depression-era Mississippi. Through the eyes of Cassie, the feisty only
daughter, we come to admire the dignity, courage, and resourcefulness of
this close-knit family. Lynne Thigpen is the ideal choice for this book.
Having read the book and listened to the audio, I have to say I got the
keenest pleasure from listening. Thigpen gives a keenly felt portrayal of
each character, capturing the nuances and inflections in the voices of
people driven nearly to despair, as well as tender moments of compassion
between parent and child. There is an especially poignant moment when the
children witness a near lynching that she handles with wonderful aplomb.
Listening to her eloquent reading brings an already powerful story vividly
to life in a performance you'll find hard to shut off and sorry to see end.
D.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Midwest Book Review
Cassie's family faces a real
challenge: to hold on to land in the South during the Depression. Her father
works away from home and her mother works and runs the family farm. Lynne
Thigpen dramatizes this excellent classic story of a black family's
struggles to remain independent and proud against all obstacles.
Booklist, starred review
Entirely through its own
internal development, the novel shows the rich inner rewards of black pride,
love, and independence.
Book Description
Winner of the 1977 Newbery Medal, this is a remarkably
moving novel-one that has impressed the hearts and minds of millions of
readers. Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, it is the story
of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and
independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And, too, it is
Cassie's story-Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the
course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to
the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of
dignity and self-respect.
Synopsis
Young Cassie Logan
endures humiliation and witnesses the racism of the KKK as they embark on a
cross-burning rampage, before she fully understands the importance her
family attributes to having land of their own.
Ingram
Facing a year of night riders
and burnings, Cassie and her family continue their struggle to keep their
land and hold onto what rightfully belongs to them, despite the difficult
battles they must continue to endure. Reprint. Winner of the Newberry Medal.
AB. NYT.
From the Back Cover
"Vivid--complex--powerful--convincing--The novel shows the rich inner
rewards of black pride, love, and independence."--Booklist, starred
review
About the Author
Mildred D. Taylor is the
author of eight previous novels and has garnered such awards a Newbery
Medal, three Coretta Scott King Awards, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book
award. She received her Master of Arts degree from the University of
Colorado's School of Journalism and went on to work as a proofreader-editor
program coordinator for an international house and a community free school.
She now devotes her time to her family, writing, and what she terms the
"family ranch" in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
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