Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins

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Freedom on the MenuThe Greensboro Sit-Ins.jpg

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins was written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue Lagarrigue. This book was published by Puffin Books in December 27, 2007. It has 32 pages and appropriates for readers from 4-8 years old. The item weight of this book is 4.8 ounces and the dimensions is 9.06 x 0.14 x 10.06 inches. Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of this book is now living in High Point, North Carolina. [1]

Summary

This book is a historical book that tells the story of a young black girl eight-year-old Connie where she could and could not go to certain places. But when Connie sees four young men take a stand for equal rights at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, she realizes that things may soon change. This event sparks a movement throughout her town and region. And while Connie is too young to march or give a speech, she helps her brother and sister make signs for the cause. Changes are coming to Connie’s town, but Connie just wants to sit at the lunch counter and eat a banana split like everyone else.[1]

Pros

A compilation of feedback about this book can be seen on one online site. Freedom on the Menu, by Carole Boston Weatherford, is a historical fiction children’s book that tells the story of the Greensboro Sit-Ins. The young narrator, Connie, provides the audience with her account of events surrounding the Civil Rights Movement and their impact on her life. Experiences related to segregation and the Civil Rights Movement are often told from adult perspectives and a child’s point of view adds refreshing diversity to the pool of literature surrounding the topic. By telling the story from a child’s point of view the author makes the book relatable to its young audience and reminds adult readers that children are influenced by events in the community. This book also addressing an important historical event, and the importance of believing and never giving up. The book helps readers understand that the Civil Rights Movement, and sit-ins. The moral of the story is that everyone is equal no matter how they look. This book could be showcased during black history month, as a text to introduce the injustices that African Americans faced in our country, as well as a lesson on the importance of perseverance.[2]

Freedom on the Menu can be used to introduce kids of nonviolence or anti-racism. Personal vignettes about living the testimonies through acts of conscience and nonviolent resistance add reality and texture to the kids. [3]

A personal review was made by Deborah Hopkinson, she said that through Connie’s eyes, we see the role that young people played in breaking down these barriers, beginning when four college students sat at Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro and asked to be served. Thanks to this and similar student-led sit-ins, on July 25, 1960, black people were finally allowed to eat at the lunch counter. With its evocative art, child’s-eye perspective and an informative author’s note that includes a photo of the sit-in, Freedom on the Menu is an outstanding example of the kind of historical fiction that helps children better understand the past.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins. amazon.com. Retrieved January 31st, 2021
  2. Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins. goodreads.com. Retrieved January 31st, 2021.
  3. Review of Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins. PDF. Retrieved January 31st, 2021.
  4. Hopkinson, Deborah. Book Reviews: Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins. February 2005. bookpage.com. Retrieved January 31st, 2021.