Bobby, his mother, and his older brother are taking Grandmother and her car to Florida. Starting in Ohio, they visit various Civil War sites because of Ricky’s obsession with that historical period. Bobby feels detached from his brother’s enthusiasm, but thoughts of President Lincoln’s assassination, Grandfather’s fatal heart attack several months before, and the grizzly deaths of so many Civil War soldiers begin merging in Bobby’s mind. For the first time in his life, he begins to see a world outside of his own self-absorption. When his mother wrecks the car in Atlanta, Bobby dreads returning home on the bus with “chocolates” (his name for colored people). As they wait to board the bus, he learns that his family bought the last three tickets promised to a black family desperate to get to Dalton, Georgia, where their young son is the presumed victim of racial violence. Their despair stirs something in Bobby’s heart.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com ( )

Narrated from different perspec - tives, this is a moving tale about the North and South during the era of Jim Crow, through the experiences of two young boys, one white and one black

Set in 1959, Jim Crow laws

I thought that this would be a great book as a required reading in school if it isn't already for young children. ( )

Excellent historical novel that adeptly explores the racism and segregation of Jim Crow-era south from multiple perspectives, both black and white. ( )