The author of several adult poetry volumes, including The Walmart Republic (2014), here offers one of those poems in picture-book format. Based loosely on an experience from the author’s life, the poem depicts an African American boy and his white friend, who ride their bikes downtown to eat at the newly integrated Woolworth’s lunch counter. Later, when the Woolworth’s closes down, the white boy purchases a coffee mug from the store as a memento for his friend. Lansana transposes the poem’s setting from his native Enid, Oklahoma, to Greensboro, North Carolina, the site of a better-known Woolworth’s sit-in in1960. Hill’s illustrations include both black-line sketches and full-color double-page spreads that depict this mercantile icon in all its garish (and gritty) glory. An author’s note supplies background that kids (and some grown-ups) will require in order to fully appreciate this incident, which remains relevant even today. Pair with Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down (2010) for another look at this pivotal event. — Kay Weisman, Booklist
…a stunningly told story of friendship, childhood, race and growing up in the aftermath of the Woolworth sit-ins of 1960. Equal parts powerful and nostalgic (the poem is also an ode to his two best friends, who both tragically passed in adulthood), the language will speak volumes to every member of the family, and illustrator Skip Hill’s beautiful pen and ink artwork will ensure a treasured spot on the family bookshelf. — Keely Flynn, Chicago Parent
This is a moving book that I would recommend to anyone, a must read in light of current events. Lansana and Hill bring history alive and make it modern and real for readers struggling to understand the what and the why of current events. — BooksBeforeBandaids
[This book] is such a wonderful way to initiate discussion with your children about social justice and the Civil Rights Movement. Also, a reminder that true friendship knows no boundaries. Love this book, as it has sparked some great conversations with my kids. — Whoorl
2016-11-27
A book that gives voice to a little-known piece of history.In this illustrated free-verse poem, the African-American speaker (and author) remembers the candy and parakeets sold at Woolworth's, but he also recalls enjoying lunch there with his best friend, a white boy named Tod. Unbeknownst to the boys, others had fought civil rights battles at that same lunch counter only a few years prior. Lansana's verses traverse two geographical areas—Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Greensboro, North Carolina—and three time periods: 1958, when Clara Luper, an Oklahoma City civil rights activist, staged a sit-in with several young NAACP member in Katz Drug Store; the mid-1970s, when desegregation closed Lansana's school and sent him to Tod's, where they became friends; and 1993, when the Greensboro Woolworth's closed, later to become the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. Lansana's erasure of geographical and temporal boundaries may confuse readers, but it emphasizes that civil rights battles happened not just in the South, but across the nation. The backmatter covers desegregation milestones that will give readers a deeper understanding of the story. Hill's artwork alternates among black-and-white, sepia-and-white, partially covered, and full-color illustrations to draw readers' attention to what was and what is. A book that creatively glances backward and forward, offering hope for an America that wants to be post-racial but isn't yet.(Picture book. 5-10)
