Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Winner, 1977 Newbery Award
Quick Summary
An African American family deals with prejudice and discrimination in Mississippi in the 1930s.
Favorite Quote
Ain't never no reason good enough to go disobey your mama.
About the Author
Born in Mississippi and raised in Ohio, Mildred D. Taylor is the author of several books centered around the Logan family besides Roll of Thunder, including The Land, The Well: David's Story, Song of the Trees, Mississippi Bridge, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, The Friendship, and The Road to Memphis. Much of her work is inspired by her own family's stories and history. She lives in the Rocky Mountains.
My Project
Much of the book deals with the family's attempts to hang onto the land that they own, so I knew that I wanted to show a natural setting rather than the school or town. This book was packed with mentions of fire, so I painted a sky of red, orange, and yellow as a background.
In the foreground, I put silhouettes of several oak leaves, in part as a symbol of the old oak that remained untouched after the fire in the last chapter. I originally was going to use a tree, rather than the leaves, but I wanted to show that this is very much a family and town story with the characters all creating an impact on one another. The black paper used for the leaves has a rough, uneven texture to symbolize the difficulties of the family.
Final Thoughts
It was fitting that I read this book during Banned Books Week, as it has been challenged a number of times. I liked what the author said in the forward to the twenty-fifth anniversary edition, "My stories will not be 'politically correct,' so there will be those who will be offended by them, but as we all know, racism is offensive. It is not polite, and it is full of pain."
If you read this book, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.