Summer Road Trip! 5 More Books set in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina

Inside Out & Back Again, by Thanhha Lai (Alabama)
Inspired by author Thanhha Lai’s own childhood experience, Inside Out & Back Again gives a child’s-eye view of immigration through memorable free-verse poems. The year is 1975, and 10-year-old Ha and her family must leave Vietnam as the Communists take over her home city of Saigon. Eventually her family settles a long way from home in every sense of the word in the deep South. There, they must learn English, go to school, make friends, and overcome suspicion from the local community. As 10-year-old Ha tries to blend Vietnamese customs with new American ones, she struggles to adjust: “No one would believe me/ but at times/ I would choose/ wartime in Saigon/ over/ peacetime in Alabama.” But Ha’s sense of humor and optimism will keep you rolling with this Crimson Tide.

Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls (Arkansas)
You probably read Where the Red Fern Grows yourself growing up—it’s been a favorite children’s read for the last 40 years. Growing up dirt-poor in the Arkansas Ozarks during the Depression, Billy wants a pair of redbone coonhounds more than anything. After working and saving for two years, he hikes barefoot 60 miles to get them. Billy devotes his time and energy to training the dogs to be champion hounds. When his grandfather enters them in an adult coon hunt, life takes an unexpected turn for Billy and his coons. This slice of rural America hardly exists today except for armchair travelers. Not only do you get to read about an-all-but-vanished lifestyle but you also get to see grit—the essential trait we keep hearing is the key to success—in action. And don’t think you’ll get through this without a good, honest cry. It’s still a tearjerker after all these years.

Skink—No Surrender, by Carl Hiaasen (Florida)
If you’re heading to Florida, grab a Carl Hiaasen book. Skink—No Surrender has it all—mystery, adventure, gators, poisonous snakes and more. Your child will have no trouble making time to curl up and read this one. Fourteen-year-old cousins and BFFs Richard and Malley have made it their job to protect the eggs of nesting sea turtles near their Florida home. When Malley doesn’t show up for turtle duty and then lies by phone and text, Richard pairs up with Clint Tyree to find Malley. One-eyed, bearded, and adorned with a flowered shower cap, Clint is a very resourceful detective partner. The duo set off to track down Malley, who has run off with her Internet soulmate to avoid being shipped off to boarding school. Their best source of information: Malley’s surreptitious texts about the weather. As teens are wont to do, Malley makes some really bad decisions with potentially dire consequences, but in the end, goodness and crafty thinking wins out over evil in this wild, fun adventure.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor (Mississippi)
If you’re being lured by history to the great state of Mississippi, the Newberry Medal winner Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a must-read classic, and a jarring lesson about the racist culture of 1930s Mississippi and the state’s turbulent past. All in the course of one year, 9-year-old Cassie Logan’s family faces nightriders, arson, and lynching as they are traumatized in their small Mississippi town. Author Mildred D. Taylor doesn’t hold anything back. The content—as the prevailing attitude and actions of the time—is realistically disturbing, but it also shows us the importance of loyalty and pride in the face of violence, hatred, and adversity. It’s all a huge part of American history, and while you’re traveling along the very roads where this once happened, introduce your children to the hearts and minds of those who lived through it.

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson and The Girl from Felony Bay, by J.E. Thompson (South Carolina)
I must admit I’m partial to South Carolina, and couldn’t pick just one book for my home state. (Plus, if you add in a little downtime at the beach on your trip, you may just need to pack an extra book in your child’s suitcase.) National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming recounts author Jacqueline Woodson’s experiences growing up in two very different places—South Carolina and New York—during the tumultuous 60s and 70s. In the South, the caring and simple life with her grandparents contrasts with the racist reality of the Jim Crow culture. Up North, the warmth and guidance of friends counterbalances the harsh big city life.

If mystery piques more interest than history, there’s The Girl from Felony Bay, by J.E. Thompson, one of my daughters’ favorite books. Think Nancy Drew hits the Carolina coast. At the center of the story is Abbey Force, whose father is in a coma and framed for a crime he didn’t commit. After finding mysterious holes and No Trespassing signs near Felony Bay outside of Charleston, Abbey and her new friend Bee set out to solve the mystery and make her father wake up. The coastal life plays an important role in this book and is one that visitors may not glimpse on their own on a visit. The Girl from Felony Bay captures not only the local culture in this whodunit but also a time when children were free to roam and find adventures on their own. There are no helicopter parents here!
Where you books taking you this summer?