Taylor, M. D. (1976). Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Brief Annotation: This novel tells the story of Cassie Logan, a 9 year old African American girl growing up in rural Mississippi during the Great Depression. The story deals with a number of complex race issues surrounding this historical moment including, the Ku Klux Klan, poverty, sharecropping and racism in the education system. It is a great and thought provoking story and a Newbery Award winner.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade Level: 5-8

Readers who will like this: Students who enjoy historical fiction. Students learning about race history in the United States and/or the Great Depression. Students who like strong yet flawed female characters.

Response/Rating (1-4):**** I love this book. I read it again for the first time since 6th grade and couldn’t put it down. The book deals with race and race relations in a very real way, without dumbing these down for children—presenting both whites and blacks as characters with depth and complexity.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Does anyone know what life was like in the South during the Great Depression?