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Title: A History Lesson, But Not for the Fainthearted
Review: I have been reading this book aloud to fifth graders in a rural area, and I don't get it! I am very uncomfortable with the enthusiasm with which the book embraces violence as a staple of black family life. There is a chapter about a bully who does a "Maytag wash," scrubbing his smaller victims with snow and then flinging them against a chain link fence - apparently meant to be funny, but my audience of ten-year-olds just looked puzzled. In another chapter, the mother approaches naughty brother Byron with matches, Vaseline and bandages, intent upon burning his fingers as punishment. Fortunately, sister Joetta blows out the matches - also meant to be funny, I guess, but it is difficult for me to see the humor in child abuse. I might concede that this book is a valuable illustration of a particular time in history, but the Birmingham experience is overshadowed by the portrayal of African Americans as stupid and scary . . . not the lesson I had hoped for.
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