From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 1997 09:48:18 -0500

I was glad to see Eleanora E. Tate mention "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred D. Taylor. Several months ago we did a lot of programming at Madison Public Library with Newbery Medal Books. Children who participated in our Newbery Reading Challenge program were eligible to vote for the most distinguished Newbery Medal winner of all time. By popular vote, they chose "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" (25 other Newbery books got votes, as well, but "Roll of Thunder..." received the most.)

In addition to "Song of the Trees," Taylor's first book about the Logan family, her subsequent novels ("Let the Circle Be Unbroken" and "Road to Memphis") are also outstanding, as are her short stories set in Strawberry, Mississippi, published in single volumes: "The Friendship"
"Mississippi Bridge" and "The Well."

While these are all great books to use in the classroom, in the public library setting I frequently booktalk them as family read alouds. I find that parents are as happy to discover them as their children are. I know several families who have now read through the entire sequence together and are anxiously awaiting the next volume in the Logan family saga.

"Rascal," mentioned by Kathy Crook, also makes a great family read-aloud and it's fun to booktalk. Here in Madison, Wisconsin, we have the added advantage of being able to point out to families that the story is set in Edgerton, Wisconsin, not too far from Madison, and they can easily drive down to visit the Sterling North home and see exactly where the story took place.

Kathleen T. Horning Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison
Received on Mon 07 Jul 1997 09:48:18 AM CDT