Roll+of+Thunder,+Hear+My+Cry

Taylor, M. (1976). //Roll of thunder, hear my cry//. New York, NY: Puffin Books.



__Summary__ The year is 1933 in rural Mississippi. Cassie Logan, a young African American girl, lives on the family farm with her parents, her grandmother known as Big Mama, and three brothers. The story opens with Cassie walking miles to school with her brothers. Cassie is in fourth grade; her youngest brother, Little Man, is in first; Christopher-John is in second grade; and Stacy, the oldest boy, is in seventh grade. Their mother also happens to the be the seventh grade teacher. From the start of the first day of school, it is clear this family sticks together. Cassie and Little Man happen to share a teacher due to circumstances keeping the first grade teacher out of town. When the students are first given their books, an exciting affair, Little Man refuses to accept his when he sees the word '//nigra//' scrawled inside the front cover. Cassie immediately stands up for Little Man and they both receive a whipping from the teacher. Throughout the following months, the siblings continue to stand up for one another when faced with racism, poverty, and bullying from T.J., Stacy's friend-turned-enemy. The Logan family own four hundred acres of farm land. Cassie's father, David Logan, is proud to have the farm that was passed down from his father. The time comes when he may have to sell the farm or put it up as collateral for fellow African American farmers.The town is uneasy with a recent burning that lead to the death of two African American farmers and severely burnt another. It is rumored the Wallace family led the burnings. The local general store, run by the Wallace family, has also been hiking prices for the African American families and running up their debts unfairly. The Logan family starts a campaign to boycott the Wallace store. This leads to serious consequences. To boycott the Wallace store would mean a two day trip to Strawberry, along with possibly putting the farm up as collateral for their fellow farmers. Thankfully by this time, Uncle Hammer has come to visit. Uncle Hammer is Papa's brother who has done well for himself in the city. He shows up in a brand new car, similar to the one driven by a local white man. He only helps to ignite the fight against the local white bullies, threatening to kill one man for pushing Cassie off the sidewalk. More and more conflicts arise as the Wallaces figure out the Logan family has been campaigning against their store. The local white farmer, Harlan Granger, is itching to get his hands on the Logan's farm, which he already refers to a Granger land. T.J., Stacy's former friend, has been spending time with the Wallace brothers who were in fact using him. They used him as a cover up when they robbed a store in Strawberry.A mob forms, including the Wallace brothers, and wants to lynch T.J. for the robbery. When Stacy and Cassie hear of what has happened to T.J. they have a change of heart and want to help him. The mob is hungry and wants to go after Cassie's papa as well. This same night, a massive fire starts in the cotton fields of the Logan farm. The mob ceases as the community comes together, black and white, to put out the fire.While T.J. is safe from the mob, he is still arrested for the robbery in Strawberry. The fire is put out and all are safe. It is then Cassie comes to learn who not only started the fire, but who ultimately pulled the community together.

__Critique__ //Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry// is an excellent story of the trials and tribulations African Americans faced every day in the early 1900s. The threat of a mob or a lynching was always standing over their shoulders. Simple joys such as new shoes or books were few and far between. The Logans' had each other and that is what they held dear. The novel moves through dialogue and well thought out descriptive narratives. Taylor did an excellent job of painting the picture of the deep south in the 1930s. This story has a few touchy subjects such as race and racial slurs. It could very easily lead to heavy debates in the middle grade classroom about what is politically correct now and how things were in the 1930s. //Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry// can easily cross over between subjects such as language arts, history, civil rights, and even geography and science. It is an excellent novel for the middle grades classroom because it is told through the eyes of a young girl who has thoughts and feelings similar, if not the same, as to what young adolescents have today. Another key component to the story telling is the chaos. The reader learns as Cassie learns, leading to suspense and mystery through the book. For example, the fire in the cotton field; Cassie only knows there is a fire, not that it was set on purpose, or who set it, or that it was a successful distraction. The reader is caught up in the commotion of the fire just as Cassie is.

__Content Areas__

Language Arts:
 * Dialogue
 * Parts of Speech
 * Vocabulary
 * Cause and Effect (example: the boycott against the Wallace store)
 * Character view point
 * Themes (prejudice, family, bravery)
 * Role-playing

Social Studies:
 * Geography (traveling distances between towns and states in a cart pulled by a mule)
 * Civil Rights
 * History of Segregation
 * The Great Depression
 * Jim Crow Laws

Math:
 * Price of crops
 * Prices at the Wallace General Store (price of supplies vs. income from crops. plus the interest deducted by the farm owner)
 * Mortgage and loan on the Logan farm
 * The Great Depression's impact on the economy

Science:
 * Crops
 * Farming