Thunder

Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is one of those books where even the title just seems heavy.  And make no mistake, this is a heavy book.  It tackles some big issues and just because this book is for chidren it does not shy away from the truth.  I think we need that in our politically correct society.  Sometimes you need to speak the truth even if its hard.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is the story of an african american family living in Mississippi at the height of the depresion.  And make no mistake even though this book unflinchingly tackles issues of race and poverty it is a book about family.  "By the dawn the house smelled of Sunday...By evening it reeked of Christmas."  Families everywhere regardless of race or status have food that they like to eat.  Even today the smells of certain foods remind me of family and the richness of our traditions. 

What I loved about this book was the way Cassie's family, the Logans, approached life.  They lived in a world filled with injustice and prejudice.  In spite of everything going against them this is the advice Cassie's father gives her, "Cassie, there'll be a whole lot of things you ain't gonna wanna do but you'll have to do in this life just so you can survive...But there are other things, Cassie, that if I'd let be, they'd eat away at me and destroy me in the end..There are things you can't back down on, things you gotta take a stand on.  But it's up to you to decide what them things are."  I just love that attitude because its not raging against society but it's not placidly laying down and taking whatever is thrown at them. 

Deciding what you take a stand on...that's kids stuff.