Grandmama's Pride (Golden Kite Honors) [Hardcover]

Becky Birtha (Author), Colin Bootman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Golden Kite Honors

Every summer Sarah Marie visits her Grandmama who lives in the south. She doesn't realize how segregated the south is because Grandmama is too proud to put up with those things. They walk to town instead of sitting in the back of the bus.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4–A 1956 summer visit to their grandmother's home exposes two African-American girls to segregation and prejudice unlike anything they have experienced in the North. As they travel south by bus, their mother explains that the best seats are at the back. At a rest stop, most travelers head for the lunch counter, but Mama reminds her daughters that she has packed them a delicious lunch. When they arrive at their destination, six-year-old Sarah Marie notices the two separate waiting rooms and wonders why her grandmother is waiting in the one without seats. The gentle tone of Birtha's writing reflects the quiet dignity with which the adults in Sarah Marie's family meet the indignities of Jim Crow laws. When they return the following summer, the Supreme Court has desegregated the schools, buses, and public places. The strong, sensitive writing is enhanced by beautiful watercolor paintings filled with chips of light. This story will generate discussions on a range of topics including racial segregation, bullying, and self-respect.–Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 3. Birtha contributes another picture-book remembrance of the days when African Americans were forced to sit at the back of the bus, this one distinguished by superb watercolor artwork that makes segregation personal. Every summer Mama, Sister, and Sarah Marie take the bus from their home in the North to the South to see Grandmama. This year, 1956, will be different; when Sarah Marie's aunt teaches her to read, the child discovers the consequences of the signs that say "Whites only" and "Colored People," and learns the import of civil rights. The straightforward text and arresting watercolor illustrations (the evocative cover says it all, showing the determination on Grandmama's face) bring home the fierce pride, the dignity, and the emotional impact of the times: "Grandmama's pride" was "too tall to fit in the back of the bus." Told in Sarah Marie's voice, this slice of dramatic history will touch both heart and mind. An author's note provides historical context. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080753028X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807530283
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 11 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars complex structure delivers a great read, June 11, 2009

By 

elizag (mohawk valley ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grandmama's Pride (Golden Kite Honors) (Hardcover)

I loved this book and have read it to children with very good effect. What most impressed me was the tight, circling structure. It could have ended about half way through and been a good book. But the sisters, after visitng their grandmama in the south and experiencing Jim Crow segregation, go back north. The older sister learns to read, starts to figure things out, and then they come south again. The older sister sees the wisdom of her elders' response to segregation and joins them to protect her younger sister. They revisit the same places--the segregated fountain, bathroom, the lunchcounter--but now with this new insight. I love when children's books have that parallel structure. The art work is great, the prose poetic, the story and characters with great univeral appeal.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grandmama's Pride, December 23, 2006

By 

OOSA Online Book Club "O.O.S.A. Gets It Read!" (World Wide Web, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Grandmama's Pride (Golden Kite Honors) (Hardcover)

A little girl and her family go South to visit her grandma. When she gets there, things are not like at home. Black people and white people are treated differently. She sees "Colored" and "White Only" signs. She didn't like it. Things change when she went to visit her grandma again the next summer. Everyone could use the same bathroom, water fountain and waiting room.

I liked it because it taught me more about black and white people and the way things used to be.

Reviewed by: Jada Monet, 7-years old

5.0 out of 5 stars Great learning tool!, January 30, 2012

By 

Mrs. D - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grandmama's Pride (Golden Kite Honors) (Hardcover)

I bought this book to help teach my lessons on segregation the week before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. My fourth graders loved the book and it gave a different perspective on the Civil Rights Movement than their textbooks. Great book!