Freedom Summer (book) facts for kids
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| Author | Deborah Wiles |
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| Illustrator | Jerome Lagarrigue |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
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Publication date
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2001 |
| Pages | 32 pages |
| ISBN | 978-0-689-87829-9 |
| OCLC | 57510775 |
Freedom Summer is a powerful children's book by Deborah Wiles. It tells an important story about friendship and fairness. The amazing pictures were created by Jerome Lagarrigue. This book first came out in 2001 from Simon & Schuster.
Contents
The Story of Freedom Summer
What Happens in the Book?
The book Freedom Summer takes place in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. This time was known as "Freedom Summer." It was a period when many people worked to end unfair rules that separated people based on their skin color. This separation was called segregation.
The story is about two best friends, John Henry and Joe. John Henry is Black, and Joe is White. They do almost everything together, like swimming in a nearby creek. But there is one place they cannot go together: the town swimming pool. This is because Black people were not allowed to use public pools with White people.
Joe hears exciting news: a new law has passed! This law means Black people can now do many things that only White people could do before. Joe is thrilled because he thinks this means he and John Henry can finally go to the town pool together.
The next day, the boys rush to the pool, full of hope. But they are shocked by what they find. The town pool is closed! It has been filled with black, sticky tar. The White people in their community chose to close the pool completely rather than share it with their Black neighbors.
This moment shows the boys that even though laws can change quickly, people's feelings and ideas about race can take much longer to evolve. It was a tough lesson for them.
A Glimmer of Hope
Even though the boys are disappointed about the pool, the book ends with a hopeful moment. John Henry and Joe are able to walk into a grocery store together. Before, this store was only for White people. This small step shows that even with challenges, change was slowly happening.
Awards and Recognition
Freedom Summer has won special awards for its powerful message and beautiful artwork. The illustrator, Jerome Lagarrigue, received the John Steptoe Award for New Talent for his work on this book.
In 2002, the book also won the Ezra Jack Keats Award. This award celebrates new writers and illustrators of picture books for children. It recognized Freedom Summer as the best new picture book writer and best new illustrator of the year.
