Walking Home to Rosie Lee

Title:  Walking Home to Rosie Lee

Author:  A. LaFaye

Illustrator: Keith D. Shepherd

Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press

ISBN:  9781933693972

Audience: First grade and up, parents and children

Summary: Slavery separated many African American families as parents and children were sold and sent to different plantations. At the close of the Civil War these people were at last free to search for their loved ones. Freedmen’s Bureaus were established as clearing houses of information for people who were looking for their families. This poignant chapter in our history comes to life through Gabe, a boy searching for his mama, Rosie Lee. He joins the folks on the road who have freedom on their minds looking for work, dreaming dreams around night time camp fires, “all hope and hurry on.” Gabe’s memories of Rosie Lee-her sweet smell of jasmine, her good cooking, the yellow scarf around her neck, her sweet smile- keep him going month after month, town after town, until one day… The story ends with thanksgiving to God.

Literary elements at work in the story: This is a little known story in our tragic history of slavery that the author has researched through newspapers, diaries, articles and interviews. The story is told in Gabe’s voice that has a poetic, rhythmic quality.  The illustrations complement this voice with strength and feeling.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? This is a story about poverty, prejudice, injustice, cruelty, sorrow that affects whole families but  it is not a story about passive or helpless people.

Theological Conversation Partners: The story of Gabe and Rosie Lee can engage us on two levels.  The first is the sad chapter of slavery in our nation’s history.  Adults and children of any race benefit from knowing this and giving thanks for changes.  The point is not to burden children with guilt but to help them see that such injustice can exist in our own society.  The lost boys of Sudan, refugee families, families separated by war and poverty are reminders that this tragedy exists today.  It’s a good plan to introduce children to something they can do when faced with wrong and the refugees of Sudan and now of Syria, offer an opportunity for prayer and gifts through denominational programs.  The second level is found in the yearning of Gabe and his mother for each other.  Psalm 90 begins, “Lord, you have always been our home. (TEV)” and home is not a place but a Person. The heart yearns for God as Gabe yearned for his mother. Jesus captured this in the story of the Prodigal Son. Luke 15.  Psalm 42:1,  63:1 are further statements of this yearning. For both Gabe and his mother, their relationship comes from God and rests in God. Parents and caring adults are a sign of God’s love and we can help children be aware of the Giver.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Try to imagine what it would be like to have one of your parents taken to live in another town or place because they had been sold.  This was once a practice in our country.
2. Do you know of families that suffer separation today?
3. Have you ever been homesick?  Have you been homesick even if you were at home? Why?
4. Who helped Gabe as he was searching for Rosie Lee?
5. Are there adults as well as your parents who help you?
6. Why do we love our parents and adults who help us?
7. Jesus tells us that God is like a heavenly parent, father or mother, who wants to give us better gifts than even our real parents (Luke 11)

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

Teens and Faith: Three Final Reviews

These three short reviews by regular contributor Virginia Thomas mark the end of our 6 week series on books that reflect experiences of teens and faith.  We’d love to hear your suggestions about other books we didn’t review!

Title:  Ordinary Miracles

Author: Stephanie S. Tolan

Publisher: Harper Trophy Book

ISBN: 9780380733224

Audience: Ages 10 and up

Summary: Mark and Matt Filkins are identical twins, 8^th graders, whose lives are so closely intertwined  that they often have the same dreams. An equally strong bond is their conservative, evangelical faith. Their father is a minister in an independent church and they  are destined to be fourth generation ministers in a family of ministers.  Matthew is excited about this; Mark is having reservations. When he meets Dr. Colin Hendrick, a Nobel prize winner in science, his life takes a new direction.  Dr. Hendrick has been invited to help with the 8^th grade science class and Mark is completely enthralled by his exposure to new knowledge, including genetic engineering.  Mark’s father disapproves, saying that God is the creator, not man. As Mark  tries to reconcile his family’s faith with Colin’s lack of belief, he learns that Colin is dying of pancreatic cancer.  Now his belief about prayer is tested and when Colin dies he must re-think his faith and find a more independent relationship with Matthew.

Colin is a dedicated scientist who loves the world; he can only believe in what can be tested and proven.  Mark’s family, though generous and charitable in their dealings with others, has deep convictions.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and Colin will not choose this way.  How do we know what to believe?  There is no scientific proof for the Christian faith.  Colin sees ordinary miracles all around him in the natural world.  Mark is looking for a different kind of miracle, that God will spare Mark’s life.  This is a sensitive, thoughtful book that faces the conflict that is often seen between science and religion.  The ordinary miracle that helps Mark after Colin’s death may not satisfy everyone but the total experience of living with sincere believers and a sincere agnostic is powerful.

Title:  The Boy Who Dared

Author:  Susann Campbell Bartoletti

Publisher: Scholastic Press

ISBN: 9780439680134

Audience: Ages 9 and up

Summary: Seventeen year old Helmuth Hubener was the youngest person executed for treason by the Third Reich. The story begins with the chilling words, “The Executioner works on Tuesday.” The ending is a foregone conclusion; this is, after all, fictionalized history but Helmuth’s memories of the events and the growing convictions that brought him to this place hold our interest..   He is convicted for listening to a shortwave BBC station that gives accurate news about the war and distributing this news through pamphlets that he and three friends distribute secretly. His testimony in court guarantees that his three friends will not be executed but seals his fate .  Helmuth was an active member of the Mormon Church, organized by American missionaries, and his trust in God sustains him through his trial and death.

The Boy Who Dared raises a number of issues that Christians as citizens should ponder.  Throughout the rise of the Third Reich many German Christians claim Hitler is a leader supplied by God; opposing this idea is at first difficult, then truly dangerous.  How do we decide what good citizenship is?  Helmuth’s brothers argue that his actions will harm the family, that to oppose the German government is a pointless act of folly. How and when does one choose between prudence and daring action? How does a government like the Third Reich rise to power?  What motivates Helmuth to risk his life?  At one point in the story Helmuth wonders about the purpose of his life in this situation.  His decisions make inspiring reading.

Title:  Caleb’s Wars

Author: Davis L. Dudley

Publisher: Clarion Books

ISBN:  9780547239972

Audience: Ages 14 and up

Summary:  The time: summer, 1944, prior to the Civil Rights movement. The place: rural Georgia. Caleb, a 15 year old African-American, is engaged in several wars: the war in Europe where his brother Randall is a prisoner of war; a war with his domineering, abusive father who wants Caleb to work in his carpenter shop; a war with the white culture which limits and demeans him; and a war that centers on his faith and God’s call.  The book begins with Caleb’s baptism in which he hears God name him as his servant.  The call has little meaning for him as blacks in the south have always been servants.  He knows he has heard a voice, externally and internally, but he tends to ignore it as he goes to work in the Dixie Belle restaurant, defying his father.  Andreas, a German prisoner of war is brought in from the prisoner of war camp to work in the restaurant and Caleb establishes a tentative friendship with his brother’s enemy.  Scattered through the book are incidents of physical conflict with bullying white boys, of verbal conflicts with a racist waitress and a patronizing white man.  Caleb is led to pray for two persons who need healing and, to his amazement, his prayers are answered. Is this what it means to be a servant? The answer seems to come when Caleb has the courage to demand to be served in the Dixie Belle in the name of his brother Randall.

Here is a picture of the South during World War II with all of its prejudices and injustice.  The author does a commendable job of showing what this culture does to a person who suppresses the anger the treatment creates.  Caleb’s father has no faith in a God who lets such conditions exist.  Caleb’s Ma makes a strong case for the failure of male violence to lead the world to peace. Caleb’s struggle with God’s call is a thread throughout the book.  He prays but hears nothing.  In the courage to oppose an injustice in the restaurant, Caleb seems to understand God’s call and to anticipate a continuing struggle to be a servant. In keeping with the times, African-Americans are referred to as “niggers” and “colored.”   This book has good possibilities for young people in confirmation classes. It could prompt a discussion on which is the greater gift-the ability to heal physically or the courage to oppose injustices?

The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights

Name of Book:  The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights

Author:  Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator:  Tim Ladwig

Publisher:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Audience:  Ages 6-9

Summary:  This is a story of African American history in the United States from slavery to present day. The author highlights 13 historical figures and shares a bit about their story through the lens of the Beatitudes. The illustrations are specific to each story shared, portraying life-like portraits and accurate accounts of the stories of each person. The book begins with an overview of African American history and the sharing of the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and then carefully moves through the unique stories of the historical figures.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This is a first person story told from the perspective of God. It is a poem that winds through 13 powerful stories, each one told with a corresponding line of the Beatitudes. The characters in the story are the 13 historical figures along with God as the narrator. This book is written as a free-flowing poem, and each story is set in the time and location of the person’s story being told. Twice in the book God is referred to as “he.”

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economic/ability make a difference to the story?  The book is purely African American and focuses on the stories of African American ancestors throughout history and including present day. The stories are inclusive of genders, all socio-economic backgrounds and cultures as well. Given history, the book does portray white Americans in a negative and oppressive light. The story is most powerful in the way scripture is tied into the African American heritage, as introduced at the start of the book, and how the author has included God as a part of the stories as well.

Scripture: Amos 5:23-24

Theology:  As God’s creation we have a responsibility to love and care for one another. Life in Christ commands us to be devoted to one another through care, honor and sincere love. We are to put the needs and care of others above the care of ourselves, as God did for us through the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. God demands justice and righteousness for all of God’s creation. God despises when we are complacent and ignore the needs of our Christian brothers and sisters.

Faith Talk Questions

1. Do you know someone who has suffered because of their race? Have you suffered?
2. How does God feel when people treat each other as less than God’s own children?
3. When has God called you to step out in faith and go against what everyone else is doing?
4. How can we care for all of God’s children when we see them being treated unfairly?
5. Did you know that God was involved in all of these historical stories?
6. How can we strengthen our faith and rely on God when we feel like we’re being mistreated?

This review is written by Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Katie Todd.

Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case

Title: Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case

Author: Chris Crowe

Publisher: Dial

ISBN: 978-0803728042

Audience: Grades 5-12

Summary: Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old black teenager from Chicago, was visiting family in a small town in Mississippi during the summer of 1955. It was said that Emmett whistled at a white woman, something forbidden for a black male. Three days later his brutally beaten body was found floating in the Tallahatchie River. Two white men were tried and acquitted by an all-white jury and later bragged publicly about the crime

Literary elements at work in the story: In clear, vivid detail this book gives the detail of the crime, as well as the dramatic court trial. With lively narrative, illustrations and photographs, this impressive book brings insight to the case in a way that is accessible and eye-opening for teenagers and adults alike.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story: The kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till is famous as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. The extreme violence of the crime put a national spotlight on the ways of the South.

Scripture: Matthew 22: 36-40

Theology: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. This passage has been cited and spoken so many times that its familiarity can cause us to gloss over it. However, when we look at the words in the context of the world  our focus becomes clear again. The story of the Civil Rights Movement is the story of these words. By committing to non-violence, the movement took these words to heart. Non-violent protest involves loving you neighbor as much as protesting their actions.  Martin Luther King, Jr. called for people to respect, love and care for each other, not kill each other.  You can not love God and kill a 14 year old for speaking to someone. You can not love God and systematically put someone down because they look different or are a member of a different religion. You can not love God and kill someone because they have different views from you. Loving God means respecting and caring for all of God’s people regardless of where they live, what they look like, or what they believe.

Faith Talk Questions:

1.    Why was Emmett murdered?

2.    What did Emmett’s mother do that brought his murder to the attention of the country?

3.    Can you think of a group today that is treated unfairly?  Why?

4.    Do you have to like someone to love them?

5.    What can you do to help love your neighbor, even the ones you don’t like?

Other books like this one: The Short Life of Sophie Scholl by Hermann Vinke; Thanks to My Mother by Schoschana Rabinovici; Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata.

Review prepared by Janet Lloyd