Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Bus Rolls in...

The First ever Kidz Book Buzz Blog Tour is underway featuring author Mary Ann Rodman. An up-and-coming author with five books on her resume: Jimmy's Stars, Yankee Girl, My Best Friend, with First Grade Stinks coming out next month, and Surprise Soup coming out in the Spring of 2009!

I first read Yankee Girl for a mock Newbery Award class in 2005. I enjoyed it tremendously and bought a copy for the Como Public Library. It is nice to have the perspective of a white female, student narrator relating the story of Mississippi's school integration. So many of the black students come away from a civil rights unit thinking all whites are racist. Through the narrator, they explore the thoughts of a girl not from there, dare-I-say, a Yankee!

Please visit other tour participants for reviews and book giveaways. The bus stops at these blogs: 01 Charger, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, By the Book Reviews, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Maw Books, Small World Reads, The Friendly Book Nook

4 comments:

sage said...

I don't know if I understand this bus stop thing, but would you let a 10 year old (who is a good reader) read this book? Would it help her understand what her dad went through in the late 60s with busing in the south (i've done some blogging on this)?

maggie moran said...

Absolutely, Sage! This is a book perfect for her age. Yes, there is busing and reluctance by the black teen girl to attend the school.

I am participating in a book blog tour, and the bus is a play on the tour part. :)

Another book from a white boy's perspective involving Emmett Till, is another thought when she gets around 13. Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe made me cry. Here again, it is a teenage boy staying with his grandfather in MS for the summer, but he is an outsider to the state. Formulamatic?

Anonymous said...

I am gonna have to read this one. I, too, have problems with minorities assuming I am racist because of my skin color. I wonder if my experiences are similar to those of the author.

maggie moran said...

Violette - This is a close biographical sketch of the author and her troubles going to a new school in the south during intergration. You will find it in the YA section at your local library. I hope... :)