The Other Side [Hardcover]

Jacqueline Woodson (Author), E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 15, 2001 | Age Range: 5 and up | Lexile Measure: 300L (What's this?)

Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the white side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown-ups' rules by sitting on top of the fence together.

With the addition of a brand-new author's note, this special edition celebrates the tenth anniversary of this classic book. As always, Woodson moves readers with her lyrical narrative, and E. B. Lewis's amazing talent shines in his gorgeous watercolor illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Woodson (If You Come Softly; I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This) lays out her resonant story like a poem, its central metaphor a fence that divides blacks from whites. Lewis's (My Rows and Piles of Coins) evocative watercolors lay bare the personalities and emotions of her two young heroines, one African-American and one white. As the girls, both instructed by their mothers not to climb over the fence, watch each other from a distance, their body language and facial expressions provide clues to their ambivalence about their mothers' directives. Intrigued by her free-spirited white neighbor, narrator Clover watches enviously from her window as "that girl" plays outdoors in the rain. And after footloose Annie introduces herself, she points out to Clover that "a fence like this was made for sitting on"; what was a barrier between the new friends' worlds becomes a peaceful perch where the two spend time together throughout the summer. By season's end, they join Clover's other pals jumping rope and, when they stop to rest, "We sat up on the fence, all of us in a long line." Lewis depicts bygone days with the girls in dresses and white sneakers and socks, and Woodson hints at a bright future with her closing lines: "Someday somebody's going to come along and knock this old fence down," says Annie, and Clover agrees. Pictures and words make strong partners here, convincingly communicating a timeless lesson. Ages 5-up. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-A story of friendship across a racial divide. Clover, the young African-American narrator, lives beside a fence that segregates her town. Her mother instructs her never to climb over to the other side because it isn't safe. But one summer morning, Clover notices a girl on the other side. Both children are curious about one another, and as the summer stretches on, Clover and Annie work up the nerve to introduce themselves. They dodge the injunction against crossing the fence by sitting on top of it together, and Clover pretends not to care when her friends react strangely at the sight of her sitting side by side with a white girl. Eventually, it's the fence that's out of place, not the friendship. Woodson's spare text is easy and unencumbered. In her deft care, a story that might have suffered from heavy-handed didacticism manages to plumb great depths with understated simplicity. In Lewis's accompanying watercolor illustrations, Clover and her friends pass their summer beneath a blinding sun that casts dark but shallow shadows. Text and art work together beautifully.-Catherine T. Quattlebaum, DeKalb County Public Library, Atlanta, GA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (January 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399231161
• ISBN-13: 978-0399231162
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 11.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Prejudice & Racism

More About the Author

Jacqueline Woodson's awards include 3 Newbery Honors, a Coretta Scott King Award and 3 Coretta Scott King Honors, 2 National Book Awards, a Margaret A. Edwards Award and an ALAN Award -- both for Lifetime Achievement in YA Literature. She is the author of more than 2 dozen books for children and young adults and lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Poignant tale reflecting America's "Apartheid" June 19, 2004

By Reginald D. Garrard VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

What baby boomer cannot relate to a book that portrays the "dividing line" that separated blacks and whites in this country prior to the Civil Rights Movement!!!

This story shows two youngsters, one black and one white, that come to bridge the gap by making a simple gesture of sitting on the fence that comes between their two homes.

Such a simple act has great power and the book is perfect for primary and elementary learners, thought-provoking and beautifully illustrated.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for the 3-5 grade classroom February 3, 2004

By Mrs. Tiffany Regan

Format:Hardcover

This is a touching story about how children don't see black and white, but see potential friendship and possibilities. Two little girls learn how to work around "the fence" that adults have constructed and find a friend. For teachers, this is a fabulous book for teaching questioning strategies in reading. The illustrations are wonderful.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sitting on the fence... January 20, 2001

By Angie Harris

Format:Hardcover

This is a story about a young African American girl who is not supposed to play on the other side of the fence because "that's the way things are." There is a white girl who lives on the other side. The two children study one another from afar until one day they meet on opposite sides of the fence. Though neither of them are allowed to climb over the fence, their friendship blossoms as they both sit on top of it. A subtle way to show children that friendship can overcome any barrier...even race.