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David Greenberg

A Tugging String: A Novel About Growing Up During the Civil Rights Era Hardcover – October 16, 2008

by David T. Greenberg (Author)

12 ratings

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Duvy Greenberg is an ordinary twelve-year-old trying to fit in. He knows that his father, Jack, is a civil rights lawyer, but Duvy lives worlds away from Dorothy Milton, a black woman struggling to become a registered voter in Selma, Alabama. When Dorothy reaches out to Martin Luther King Jr. for help, she sets in motion a series of events that—with Jack Greenberg’s help—will open Duvy’s eyes to the reality of racial inequality and forever change the course of history. Blending facts, speeches, memories, and conjecture, this novel portrays the emotions and events surrounding the Selma-Montgomery Voting Rights March.

Reading age

9 - 12 years
Print length

167 pages
Language

English
Grade level

4 - 7
Lexile measure

930L
Dimensions

5.75 x 0.67 x 8.56 inches
Publisher

Dutton Books for Young Readers
Publication date

October 16, 2008
ISBN-10

0525479678
ISBN-13

978-0525479673
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—A fascinating look at the Civil Rights Movement, specifically the campaign to gain the vote for blacks in Selma, AL. The author, son of Jack Greenberg, a civil rights lawyer and director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund during the 1960s, provides a unique perspective on this time, wrapping actual events within a fictional story line. It centers around David's boyhood in Great Neck, NY, as he grows in understanding of the often-dangerous work his father does. Alternating chapters focus on Jack Greenberg's efforts in the South, the courageous individuals with whom he comes into contact (ranging from regular people to leaders such as Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, Jr.), and the threats they all face daily. This book is at once homage of a son to his father and an exploration of a crucial moment in American history. Dad is lovingly portrayed, as is the rest of the Greenberg family. The narrative beautifully melds historical fact with imagined situations and characters (footnotes and a postscript clearly delineate between real and fictionalized events). Although didactic at times, it is clearly written and sincere, and it should prove appealing to those readers who absorb historical fact better through historical fiction.—Carol Jones Collins, Hanover Park High School, East Hanover, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When David Duvy Greenberg was 12 years old, his father was a lawyer for Martin Luther King Jr. and the protestors who King led in the 1965 Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery. Blending memoir, politics, history, and fiction, this novel re-creates the crucial civil rights struggle at that time, with details about the leaders and protestors on all sides, presented from Duvy’s viewpoint. Greenberg balances personal and political stories: Duvy worries about his ball game even as he is terrified that his dad’s life is in danger from the Klan, who calls Duvy’s father that vicious Jew lawyer. The mix of fact and fiction does not always make for a smooth narrative, especially when naive Duvy asks Dad questions that fill in history (What’s the Ku Klux Klan? What’s Jim Crow?). Long footnotes that appear throughout the chapters add more context. Despite the uneven pacing, though, the story will grab readers with its powerful moments drawn straight from history. Grades 4-7. --Hazel Rochman

Publisher : Dutton Books for Young Readers (October 16, 2008)
Language : English
Hardcover : 167 pages
ISBN-10 : 0525479678
ISBN-13 : 978-0525479673
Reading age : 9 - 12 years
Lexile measure : 930L
Grade level : 4 - 7
Item Weight : 10.7 ounces
Dimensions : 5.75 x 0.67 x 8.56 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,630,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #548 in Children's United States Biographies (Books)
- #1,684 in Children's 1900s American Historical Fiction
- #3,478 in Children's Black & African American Story Books

Customer Reviews:
12 ratings

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Jillybean

Great selker

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

I’m so excited about this book! Perfect for my teenage son who is studying the Civil Rights Movement. It came promptly and in heart condition.

Helpful

M. L. Baker

Good product, good service!

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

Good product, good service!

Helpful

E. Bauer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2014

Verified Purchase

Good story to read during Black History month for intermediate

Helpful

Sharon E. Buehler

A must read for middle grades

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2016

Verified Purchase

Greenberg shares a powerful story for middle grade students.

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Ann M

A Tugging String- Loved it!

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2008

Greenberg's novel about growing up in the Civil Rights Era is important on a couple of levels. First, it is a fascinating account of a young boy bumping up against such giants as Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, Jr. Greenberg's father, Jack Greenberg, is a lawyer who fights to promote the civil rights of African Americans in America's south. Duvy, as Greenberg is affectionately called by his father, learns about predjudice firsthand.
On another level, the book is a heart-felt tale of a boy's sometimes hilarious and sometimes painful process of growing up. Duvy worries about his hair, and does everything he can think of to try and tame it into smooth submission- to no avail. Duvy scores a touchdown- for the wrong team. But along the way, Duvy learns compassion, tolerance, and what it means when we say "All men are created equal". This is an important book. Thank you, David Greenberg, for recounting such a powerful story.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

GAH

Heart String Tug

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2008

I like all the books I've read by David Greenberg, as he is a first-class poet of the younger grades (and that includes college in the case of SLUGS)but here is this new one that really defies categorization. This novel makes you smile and sometimes laugh out loud. It takes a poet to do that in prose and Greenberg's prose is intimate, funny, friendly and introspective all at the same time. A Tugging String is about Martin Luther King Jr., Jack Greenberg (David's father, the lawyer who helped King's cause at its inception), and David, or Duvy, as he is cast in the novel. The story is also about being Jewish in a time of temper, bigotry, and protest in America. A small book about big things, well told, deeply experienced.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Lily

A must buy for teachers and librarians

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2008

If you're looking for a stellar Civil Rights read that entertains and inspires, A Tugging String is your book. While reading the book aloud, my students walked with Duvy (childhood moniker of author David Greenberg) and experienced the laughter, pain, triumph and humanity of the intertwining stories: Duvy's navigation through adolescence and Jack Greenberg's role in the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960's. Iconic figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thurgood Marshall become flesh and blood for the reader as students experience the Civil Rights movement in a personal and unforgettable way.

A Tugging String is well suited for upper elementary and middle grade readers, and should become part of the curriculum for all US school children. If your budget allows, hire David Greenberg himself to come to your school district to tell this story. He charms kids of all ages while inspiring students to stand up for what is right and noble.

6 people found this helpful

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Jenny Murray

A Tugging String helps young readers understand an incomprehensible period in American history

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2008

David Greenburg's novel is beautiful in its simplicity. As a teacher, I often struggle with how to teach students about difficult times in American history. Greenburg's novel is a true treasure as tells the story of the civil rights era through the eyes of a young boy.

Young Duvy has his own problems growing up and not belonging. Not a star athlete, Duvy doesn't quite fit in with the other boys in town. He prefers to spend his time in the kitchen or writing. As he finds his way, his father, civil rights attorney, Jack Greenburg, fights for others to have the right to their own ways. The parallel stories make history personal and understandable for young readers. All middle graders know what it feels like to not belong. Greenburg deftly uses this universal understanding to help young readers construct their own understandings of the civil rights era.

When students understand these universal rights and truths, they have a greater appreciation for democracy and civil responsibility. A Tugging String is an important novel for the current age.

5 people found this helpful

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