Grandmama's Pride - Hardcover

Birtha, Becky

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080753028X ISBN 13: 9780807530283

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company, 2005

Synopsis

Six-year-old Sarah Marie, her mother, and her little sister travel down south to visit Grandmama in the summer of 1956. Grandmama makes every effort to shield her granddaughters from the prejudice that still plagues her town. But as Sarah Marie learns to read, she notices Grandmama’s town is filled with signs and rules that she’s never understood before. As Sarah Marie tries to make sense of the world around her, she’s left wondering if life in the South will ever change.

About this title

About the Authors

Becky Birtha is the author of Grandmama's Pride and Lucky Beans, which also express her advocacy for social justice. She has degrees in children's studies and creative writing. She lives in Pennsylvania with her partner and their two young adult children.

Colin Bootman was born in Trinidad. He moved to the United States when he was seven, but the vibrant palette of the Caribbean has always influenced his painting. In 2004, he received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award. He lives in New York.

Reviews

Grade 2-4–A 1956 summer visit to their grandmother's home exposes two African-American girls to segregation and prejudice unlike anything they have experienced in the North. As they travel south by bus, their mother explains that the best seats are at the back. At a rest stop, most travelers head for the lunch counter, but Mama reminds her daughters that she has packed them a delicious lunch. When they arrive at their destination, six-year-old Sarah Marie notices the two separate waiting rooms and wonders why her grandmother is waiting in the one without seats. The gentle tone of Birtha's writing reflects the quiet dignity with which the adults in Sarah Marie's family meet the indignities of Jim Crow laws. When they return the following summer, the Supreme Court has desegregated the schools, buses, and public places. The strong, sensitive writing is enhanced by beautiful watercolor paintings filled with chips of light. This story will generate discussions on a range of topics including racial segregation, bullying, and self-respect.–Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME
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K-Gr. 3. Birtha contributes another picture-book remembrance of the days when African Americans were forced to sit at the back of the bus, this one distinguished by superb watercolor artwork that makes segregation personal. Every summer Mama, Sister, and Sarah Marie take the bus from their home in the North to the South to see Grandmama. This year, 1956, will be different; when Sarah Marie's aunt teaches her to read, the child discovers the consequences of the signs that say "Whites only" and "Colored People," and learns the import of civil rights. The straightforward text and arresting watercolor illustrations (the evocative cover says it all, showing the determination on Grandmama's face) bring home the fierce pride, the dignity, and the emotional impact of the times: "Grandmama's pride" was "too tall to fit in the back of the bus." Told in Sarah Marie's voice, this slice of dramatic history will touch both heart and mind. An author's note provides historical context. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080753028X
• ISBN 13: 9780807530283
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Bootman Colin
• Number of pages: 32