The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Suzanne Jurmain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2005 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)

They threw rocks and rotten eggs at the school windows. Villagers refused to sell Miss Crandall groceries or let her students attend the town church. Mysteriously, her schoolhouse was set on fire—by whom and how remains a mystery. The town authorities dragged her to jail and put her on trial for breaking the law.

Her crime? Trying to teach African American girls geography, history, reading, philosophy, and chemistry. Trying to open and maintain one of the first African American schools in America.

Exciting and eye-opening, this account of the heroine of Canterbury, Connecticut, and her elegant white schoolhouse at the center of town will give readers a glimpse of what it is like to try to change the world when few agree with you.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9–Jurmain describes the difficulties Crandall faced when she decided to open a school for African-American females in Canterbury, CT. Although she had the support of William Lloyd Garrison, editor of the antislavery publication the Liberator; Reverend Samuel May, a Unitarian minister; and others, her hard work met resistance in the form of riots, arson, and a jail sentence. Black-and-white photos highlight the key players and the famed schoolhouse. The appendix lists the courageous students who attended the school along with a few facts about them, including how their futures played out after the institution was forced to close. This book offers a fresh look at the climate of education for African Americans and women in the early 1800s. Report writers and recreational readers alike will find it informative.–Kelly Czarnecki, Bloomington Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. Jurmain has plucked an almost forgotten incident from history and has shaped a compelling, highly readable book around it. In 1831, Prudence Crandall opened a school for young white ladies. When asked by an African American teenager if she might join the class, Crandall, whose sympathies were with the abolitionists, agreed. So begins a jolting episode in which Crandall turned her school into one for girls of color, and is both tormented and sued by the citizenry of Canterbury, Connecticut, who wanted no part of African Americans in their town. Writing with a sense of drama that propels readers forward (and quoting the language of the day, which includes the word nigger), Jurmain makes painfully clear what Crandall and her students faced, while showing their courage as they stood up to those who tried to deter them. Printed on thick, snowy stock and including a number of sepia-toned and color photographs as well as historical engravings, the book's look will draw in readers. Children will be especially pleased by the appended material, which includes an epilogue that tells what became of the principals, as well as source notes for the many quotes. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (October 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618473025
• ISBN-13: 978-0618473021
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's Connecticut's state female hero, for good reason, December 22, 2005

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) (Hardcover)

In 1832, Prudence Crandall ran a private girls' boarding academy in Canterbury, a small Connecticut town located between Hartford and Providence, R.I. When a young African-American girl asked if she could attend Prudence's school, the teacher gladly took her in - much to the chagrin of local residents. In spite of their protests, Prudence went one step farther. Seeing that the educational need was a much larger one, she started a school just for "young Ladies and little Misses of color" in 1833, beginning with an enrollment of six girls from around New England. Even in a Northern state filled with abolitionists and anti-slavery supporters, this action was met with abhorence and eventual hostility. In retaliation, the legislature passed the Connecticut Black Law, which made it illegal to run a school for "colored persons who are not inhabitants of this State." Prudence was arrested and taken to court. She had powerful men on her side -- William Lloyd Garrison, Samuel May, and Arthur Tappan - and eventually, she was found innocent and the law was judged to be unconstitutional. But after the school was repeatedly vandalized, Prudence decided to close it in 1834. She married and moved out of the area, ending up in Kansas.

Her story could easily have ended there. Fifty years after she closed her school, the town of Canterbury and the state of Connecticut decided to apologize to Prudence. The Black Law had already been struck down in 1838. Now in 1886, the legislature granted her a pension of $400 a year to make up for the losses she suffered in the 1830s. Of course, the payment to her still didn't put an end to segregated schooling, but it was a step in the right direction. Prudence Crandall died in Elk Falls, Kansas, in 1890.

Suzanne Jurmain has done us a service by bringing Prudence Crandall's story to light and to life. Her re-telling makes for an interesting and easy read; and yet, it's the kind of real-life tale that makes one cringe at the behavior of one's fellow Americans, even those who are long, long gone. Jurmain concludes the book with a brief and necessary history of American civil rights since that time. The name of Prudence Crandall shouldn't slip through the cracks of our American history volumes. She should be as honored and as well-known as Rosa Parks.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hey Me. By Desw, December 12, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) (Hardcover)

In this book, The Forbidden School House, by Suzanne Jurmain, the author uses great detail to describe the lives of the young students, and the teacher Ms. Prudence Crandall, who was a major women's and equal rights advocate. "Although many nineteenth-century people thought educating women was a waste Prudence didn't agree. She expected her girls to learn." p. 2. This quote from the book really expresses the way that

Prudence felt about educating women, and the classes that she taught are also a strong example that she loved teaching and wanted her students to get the most out of it. Prudence was already way ahead of her time opening this incredible private girls academy, but when she began letting young black girls in the school I knew I had hit the climax of the book and found how really implausible Ms. Crandall really was. Though she went through many hardships in her teaching and lost many students when a black girl was enrolled, she kept pursuing her goal, which was to help the young black girls of America get a good education. Ms. Prudence Crandall really strived to reach her goal, and although she may not have changed the governments mind about the feelings towards black people she helped begin it. And to finish something or to reach a goal one must begin.
This was an amazing book, I was incredibly moved by the story of Ms. Prudence Crandall and will never forget it. I really agreed and was inspired by her remarkable actions, giving myself the self-esteem to pursue a risky goal. To me Prudence was a remarkable women and this book really gave me a great insight into what she and her students had to go through to make a difference that would change black and white women's education forever. Although Prudence was forced to shut her school down she never gave up her dream to fight against slavery. She knew that what she had done by opening the school to African-American girls in the country was a huge step up to where we are today, where the color of skin does not matter and women are encouraged to peruse an education.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Includes vintage photos as it traces the little-revealed struggles of Prudence Crandall and her students, January 14, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Protestors broke school windows, put manure in the school well, pounded the doors with clubs, and villagers refused to sell schoolmistress Miss Crandall groceries or let her students attend the town church. Ultimately she was dragged to jail and put on trial. Her crime? Trying to teach Afro-American girls, and training to maintain one of the first black schools in America. Almost 150 pages includes vintage photos as it traces the little-revealed struggles of Prudence Crandall and her students for readers in grades 5-8.