characters ì PDF, eBook or Kindle ePUB free ´ Brenda Woods
The Coretta Scott King Honor winning author tells the moving story of the friendship between a young white boy and a Black WWII veteran who has recently returned to the unwelcoming Jim Crow SouthOn Gabriel's twelfth birthday he gets a new bike and is so excited that he accidentally rides it right into the path of a car Fortunately a Black man named Meriwether pushes him out of. A very good middle school read about life in the Jim Crow South following WWII A young white boy growing up in a progressive educated home with parents educated at Oberlin College turns 12 and is almost killed riding his new bicycle but is saved by the uick action of a black handyman named Meriwether The two strike us a friendship resulting in Meriwether getting hired at the boy's father's gas station when a mechanic leaves for a woman The other mechanic is most displeased and may belong to the local KKK chapter Turns out Meriwether is one of the many blacks who returned from WWII having served in the military with distinction only to find out they were still second class citizens When things go south pun for Meriwether and his family they get enough help to avoid a serious problem Hopeful book about the future of race relations
Brenda Woods ´ 5 Summary
The Unsung Hero of Birdsong USAThe way just in time and fixes his damaged bike As a thank you Gabriel gets him a job at his dad's auto shop Gabriel's dad hires him with some hesitation however anticipating trouble with the other mechanic who makes no secret of his racist opinions Gabriel and Meriwether become friends and Gabriel learns that Meriwether drove a tank in the Army's all Black 761st Tank Battali. This book was overly simplistic even for a middle grade audience The biggest issue is that it falls under the “magical negro” trope which I am not a fan of A young white boy in the south rides his new bike and is saved by an older black man They become friends and the boy gets the man a job at his dad’s garage Man teaches boy lessons including that African Americans served with honor and distinction in WW2 and were then ‘punished’ when the returned home While it’s important for kids to know this history it could have been told in a sophisticated way