Free Revolution (The Sixties Trilogy) Ebooks Online
*A 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST* It's 1964, and Sunny's town is being invaded. Or at least that's what the adults of Greenwood, Mississippi, are saying. All Sunny knows is that people from up north are coming to help people register to vote. They're calling it Freedom Summer. Meanwhile, Sunny can't help but feel like her house is being invaded, too. She has a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister crowding her life, giving her little room to breathe. And things get even trickier when Sunny and her brother are caught sneaking into the local swimming pool -- where they bump into a mystery boy whose life is going to become tangled up in theirs. As she did in her groundbreaking documentary novel COUNTDOWN, award-winning author Deborah Wiles uses stories and images to tell the riveting story of a certain time and place -- and of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what's right.
Lexile Measure: 840L (What's this?)
Series: The Sixties Trilogy (Book 2)
Hardcover: 544 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (May 27, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545106079
ISBN-13: 978-0545106078
Product Dimensions: 1.8 x 5.8 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #152,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #43 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Family Life > Stepfamilies #162 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Difficult Discussions > Prejudice & Racism #205 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > United States > 1900s
Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 3 - 7
Deborah Wiles, in her after word--"A note about Freedom Summer"--succinctly states the underlying message she espouses in Revolution (The Sixties Trilogy), her second documentary novel:"At heart, Revolution is a story about what it means to be a citizen of this country, to live in a democracy, to be a member of a family, to nurture your friendships, to look beyond what you understand, to ask questions, and to tend to your community, your own backyard. What are your responsibilities? What must you do to empower yourself and others? Your vote is your voice. It is your most powerful weapon of choice. It can change the world."A cursory look may make one wonder if Wiles successfully made the connection between this high sounding aspiration and a conflicted yet curious rising adolescent girl to deliver the message. Some may snipe at the primary protagonist's Nancy Drew-ish heroic exploits as totally unbelievable. Others may complain that Wiles' use of a wide range of 1960 archival photographs and journalistic quotes is a garnishing distraction, to say nothing of unnumbered pages in spots.In the Acknowledgements Wiles confirms what is required to formulate an authentic message: "Context was what I needed for such a complex story . . . ." She found lots of "context" in the serious research she gathered from the works of other writers, reporters, photographers, civil rights archives, websites, project volunteers' letters, and "in Greenwood itself." All of which surrounds and grounds Sunny's and Raymond's ("High-top") story in graphic reality and gives it voice.A more careful reading leads one to affirm that Revolution gives an authentic perspective on Freedom Summer 1964. Message and context connect.
This book is imperative. I implore teachers, librarians, book sellers and book reviewers: please do not let this rest on a shelf until February. The time is now.Revolution is fiction because our plucky, strident narrator Sunny and her family are fictitious. The history shared; sadly, is not. A devastating, despicable, heart-wrenching, stomach-churning account of the incomprehensible influence of a few small-minded, hate-filled, yet surprisingly powerful, white men throwing their weight around to stop any and all strides towards race equality is all too true. Ms. Wiles unravels the tragedies with honesty, raw emotion and kindness and hope. She masterfully represents two dramatically different views while, most importantly, centering on the third view.Having a twelve-year old girl, adjusting to life with her cherished father and new step-family, a rarity itself in Mississippi in 1964, Ms. Wiles simultaneously opens the reader’s mind. Sunny is smart, and like so many of us at that age, she has the world figured out. As the daughter of a store-keep that has always catered to both Negro and White clientele, she fancies herself as a modern-day thinker.As her small town fills with volunteers to assist Black Voter Registration for Freedom Day, Sunny learns that there is much more to the individuals that make up her family and community. From her vantage point, being somewhat removed, she is able to see the whole picture and in doing so, is forced to reevaluate her own opinion. Further, she learns that she has the option to make a difference and possibly influence others. Few things move me more than passion for what is right, and this fiery little girl is filled.Adding this engrossing, motivating read are pictures straight out of Mississippi.
Revolution (The Sixties Trilogy) Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties Great Fashion Designs of the Sixties Paper Dolls: 32 Haute Couture Costumes by Courreges, Balmain, Saint-Laurent and Others (Dover Paper Dolls) Eye of the Sixties: Richard Bellamy and the Transformation of Modern Art Jonas Mekas; Scrapbook of the Sixties: Writings 1954 - 2010 Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties The Easy Sixties Fake Book (Fake Books) The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party Speed Duel: The Inside Story of the Land Speed Record in the Sixties Harleys, Popes and Indian Chiefs: Unfinished Business of the Sixties Salsa Rising: New York Latin Music of the Sixties Generation Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties Boom! Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today Perelandra (Space-Cosmic-Ransom Trilogy, Book 2)(Library Edition) (Space Trilogy (Audio)) That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups (Space-Cosmic-Ransom Trilogy, Book 3)(Library Edition) (Space Trilogy (Audio)) Nora Roberts Irish Trilogy: Jewels of the Sun, Tears of the Moon, Heart of the Sea (Irish Jewels Trilogy) The Lord of the Rings the Complete Trilogy (Lord of the Rings Trilogy) The Complete Gideon Trilogy: The Time Travelers; The Time Thief; The Time Quake (The Gideon Trilogy) The Singer: A Classic Retelling of Cosmic Conflict (Singer Trilogy the Singer Trilogy)
