Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
This book is part of a several book series on the Logan family. The book takes place during The Great Depression in the deep south. It is about an African American family and their struggle against racism. The main character, Cassie, has to learn the "do's" and "don'ts" that society requires. Because the book is shown through a child's perspective, it really questions and displays the types of injustices that were a common occurrence for the time period. The book may show injustices that people may not normally think about or know to think about. This book is a great example for what life was like as well as what types of social struggles occurred at the time. This book would be a great text to use a reinforcement read for history class for the study of The Great Depression, Black History Month, and feelings on personal heritage. The lexile level is 920L so it could be used around the 5th or 6th grade.
