Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles

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Deborah Wiles is the author of several highly acclaimed books, including the beloved Love, Ruby Lavender and two National Book Award finalists Each Little Bird That Sings and Revolution. Her first picture book, Freedom Summer, received the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. [1]

Summary

This book tells a beautiful friendship story of a young black boy and a young white boy. The setting was in Mississippi during the summer of 1964, a summer of desegregation in the South. The story revolves around two best friends, John Henry, who is black and Joe, who is white. They do everything together, including swimming in a local creek. However, they cannot do the same in the town pool because blacks are not allowed to use the public swimming pool.[2]

Pros

Lisa described her feelings after she reads this book. This is a beautiful friendship story of two boys who are best friends, one black and one white, the latter who was the narrator, learn the real truth, painfully, was wonderfully told. It’s a grand but simple story, and its message was woven in seamlessly. The illustrations are lovely and perfectly fit the story. She loved the art style, the colors used, everything about the pictures. This is a terrific friendship story and also a fine story to inform kids about what the sixties in the U.S. south was like for black people and for white people. Other reader also mentioned that the author, Deborah Wiles, includes a note about the text. She writes, "It is fiction, but based on real events." This book would be a great read aloud for teaching about the civil rights movement. Teachers can use it to engage students in thinking about what life was like during segregation.[3]

A personal reviewed was made by Kellee, she shared her thought that Deborah Wiles amazes her every time she read something by her. Freedom Summer starts with a personal story of Wiles’s and sets the stage for the book: What would it be like to have a best friend who is black in the South in 1964? Do we know what it is like? Any other friendship! Except many people felt that it was wrong and they cannot go places together. Freedom Summer was about Joe and John Henry. They were both young boys. They both like to swim. They both loved ice cream. However, only one could go to the pool and only one could buy ice cream from the store. She what made this story so impactful that Wiles sets the stage of the friendship as something so normal then showed how different their lives were. It is a powerful book. Its lyrical writing, soft and beautiful illustrations, and powerful message were so moving.[4]

References

  1. Freedom Summer. goodreads.com. Retrieved January 31st, 2021
  2. Freedom Summer (Book). wikipedia. Retrieved January 31st, 2021
  3. Freedom Summer. goodreads.com. Retrieved January 31st, 2021
  4. Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles (Kellee’s Review). July 15, 2015. Retrieved January 31st, 2021