It's been almost a month since I've posted, but I've been reading a lot of Patterson lately. I'm going to do a combined entry on those three books (if I blog on them at all) because they don't take much time to read/explore. I love them for quick, suspenseful reads though. Plus, Patterson is a huge proponent of childhood literacy, so I'm not knocking him.
Anywho, I read Glory Be after my old teaching friend, Lonnye Sue, suggested I buy it for the library. It's a great fit for my school, given its demographics. It's a touching take on the civil rights movement that's appropriate for elementary students.
Glory is an eleven --almost twelve-- year old white girl growing up in Mississippi in 1964. Her father is a preacher and the black maid in her home has been the closest to a mother figure she has had since her mother's passing years ago. She also has an older sister, Jesslyn, who has been a friend to Glory until this summer. Jesslyn is too involved in pep squad and hair styles to play games with Glory now, which leaves Glory with her friend, Frankie, and the local swimming pool.
At least Glory planned on spending the summer at the pool with Frankie. However, some Freedom workers from up north have come to Mississippi to "stir up trouble." Glory befriends the daughter of one of the freedom workers, much to Frankie's disapproval. Frankie's family, like much of the town, embraces the fallacy of "separate but equal" in society. The town closes the pool under the pretense of repairing cracks rather than face the possibility of integrating its population.
Closing the pool is an abomination to Glory. After all, her twelfth birthday is on July 4th, and she's had swimming parties for as long as she can remember. Though her initial anger is directed towards the pool's closing, she redirects her attention towards the ignorance of the townspeople. Glory realizes that color isn't a reason to discriminate. She says it best when a snooty busybody huffs about opening the doors to everyone in the library (ha, though I may be partial to the quote):
Libraries are about books. Books have no color. And they don't care who reads them.Glory Be would be a good classroom read, if you're looking for a class novel. It works great by yourself, too.
Target Age Range: upper elementary - middle school
