Recommended Reading

Intermediate Readers–Fiction Chapter Books

Mississippi Trial, 1955 , by Chris Crowe (New York: Penguin, 2003)
A 16-year-old white boy returns to Mississippi to visit his racist grandfather who raised him. He finds himself surrounded by controversy in the midst of the lynching of Chicago teenager Emmett Till. Written from the perspective of a white teenager who deals with racism and his role as a bystander, this novel lays the basis for discussions of the need for whites to be allies against racism. 6th grade and up.

A real American, by Richard Easton. (New York: Clarion Books, 2002)
Eleven-year-old Nathan is increasing lonely when other native-born families move from his town in Pennsylvania and Italian immigrants move in to work in the coal mines. Despite his parents’ and the townspeople’s anti-immigrant sentiments, Nathan befriends Arturo, who works with his brother and father in the mines. When Arturo is injured and there is threat of a strike, Nathan’s family comes to the support of the immigrants. The attitudes toward immigrants are similar to those sometimes encountered today. 4th grade and up.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic, 1995)
Fourth grader Kenny Watson tells the story of his family in Flint, Mich., and their trip to Birmingham during the tumultuous year of 1963. Funny, riveting, and genuine, this story will bring this aspect of the civil rights struggle alive for students. 4th grade and up.

Nonfiction, Biographies, Memoirs

Days of Courage: The Little Rock Story, by Mel Williges (Steck-Vaughn Co., 1996)
Part of a series of non-fiction children's books edited by Alex Haley, this book describes the struggle by high school students to integrate Little Rock's Central High School. 4th grade and up.

Oh, Freedom! Kids Talk about the Civil Rights Movement with the People Who Made It Happen
By Casey King and Linda Barrett Osborne. (Econo-Clad Books, 1997)
A student-friendly collection of oral histories, mostly in interview format, with people who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. The book grew out of an assignment from a fourth-grade teacher who worked with students and parents over seven years to collect hundreds of stories. Useful both for its content and as a model for doing oral history interviews. 4th grade and up.

We were there, too! : young people in U.S. history, by Phillip Hoose. (New York : Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, 2001)
This book surveys important events in American history and examines the lives of dozens of youth who played a part in them. From the Revolutionary War to the civil rights movement and beyond, We were there, too! profiles young upstanders who helped to shape our nation.