charlotteb Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Would you all say this is approapriate for a 7th and 4th grader? We are doing SOTW 4 this year and somewhere I saw this as a recommended read. I have not read it myself, so I want to be sure its ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 It was one of my favorite books as a child. I read it to ds in 4th. You might want to pre-read or look for a study guide (I think Glencoe may have a free one online). The books contains many great talking points regarding racism and rural southern life in that era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Excellent book. It deals head on with racism in the South and there are violent scenes. Lots of important things to discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlotteb Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 So, is there nothing sexually related in the book? I was going to read them "To Kill a Mockingbird", but then I remember that it talked about a supposed rape in it. I didn't want to have that discussion with the kids just yet, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I pre-read everything, and this was fine for our family. We used it as part of Sonlight's Core 4 last year. If you plan on a read-aloud and you can find the book-on-CD version, it's lovely. The voices and accents are very well done. It's "gritty and real" with honest portrails of the ugliness of racism and poverty, so I wouldn't use it for lower grades. Mine were in 4th and 6th grade. I'd wait on "To Kill a Mockingbird." I dearly love that book, but it's more for high school IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 It is an excellent book. I recommend the audio book bc reading dialect can be hard for some people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 This is a really, really awesome book. Note, however, that the language of the times is used, including frequent use of racial epithets. I would absolutely not skip the book over this, but you may want to give some thought as to how you're going to present that rather than being blindsided the first time it comes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I just read this last week (again) - I had read it in 6th grade. I think I missed the main points as a 6th grader. The curriculum we use includes it on a recommendation list for grades 4 and up. In my opinion, your 7th grader can get it with a lot of guided discussion. I would not just hand it to a 7th grader to read. I am pretty sure that most 4th graders will not understand the bigger picture/ themes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I'd wait on "To Kill a Mockingbird." I dearly love that book, but it's more for high school IMHO. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 We listened to the book on CD last year when the kids were 11 and 8. I liked it on CD as you could hear the dialect (without my having to try it if I read it aloud) and we were able to discuss things as they came up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlgbug Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 thisi is the only book i remember from my chikdhood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I don't know how I missed this as a child, because it is excellent. Even though it's written for youth, the writing is not dumbed down like some stuff for that age group. I am reading it to my 1st, 4th, 7th, and 8th graders. There is no sexuality, but the other things mentioned in this discussion are there. I explain things, and answer questions as we go along. It is one of the first family read alouds that has held the attention of my 1st grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I loved that book when I did it at school. I think I did it in grade 7, but it wasn't particularly difficult to read and I don't recall any sexual content either. However the racism theme is fairly intense, so it's probably the book equivalent of Parental Guidance recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I just read this last week (again) - I had read it in 6th grade. I think I missed the main points as a 6th grader. The curriculum we use includes it on a recommendation list for grades 4 and up. In my opinion, your 7th grader can get it with a lot of guided discussion. I would not just hand it to a 7th grader to read. I am pretty sure that most 4th graders will not understand the bigger picture/ themes. We read this in 4th and my ds and I had some great discussions, it was one of the highlights of our year. I have no doubt he grasped the greater theme. I read it probably at about the same age. I think it helps that it is told from a child's viewpoint, I was able to see myself in her shoes. Just to add a note as well: There are at least two more books in this series, told from Cassie's viewpoint. I would NOT recommend the 2nd book without previewing, it takes a big jump in the issues and would require a greater maturity on the part of the reader. I have not read the 3rd book yet, but it's on my shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifra Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 So, is there nothing sexually related in the book? I was going to read them "To Kill a Mockingbird", but then I remember that it talked about a supposed rape in it. I didn't want to have that discussion with the kids just yet, kwim? I first read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry as a school-assigned book in seventh grade. There is no sexuality in it; however, the first sequel does have a girl who hangs around white boys who does become pregnant from one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 So, is there nothing sexually related in the book? I was going to read them "To Kill a Mockingbird", but then I remember that it talked about a supposed rape in it. I didn't want to have that discussion with the kids just yet, kwim? If you do choose "Roll of Thunder," you will need to have a discussion about lynching. The climax of the book involves quite a bit of violence and the threatened lynching of a 14 year old friend of the protagonist family. It is hinted at all the way through but ends with the white men in town chasing after the kids' school friend, who has been beaten up and otherwise mistreated by 2 white boys. I guess you just decide which conversation you don't want to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Indeed Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Several people have said there is no sexuality, so am I thinking of another book that has 2 little girls being sent home from school because integration was just announced and one almost gets r*ped by a truck of white boys? :confused: If it was a different book I apologize, but I thought when I was previewing this book a few years ago, that I did not read it to my children then because of this issue. They were all under 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 That does not happen in this book. This one is set about 30 years before school integration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Indeed Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 That does not happen in this book. This one is set about 30 years before school integration. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I will have to take another look at this book now. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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