Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia C. McKissack
Summary:
This story is about a young girl in the South and her journey to her 'special place' during the 1950's, a time of segregation. She wants to show her independence and goes out on the town alone without her granny for the first time. She find the journey difficult and becomes discouraged and disheartened by the segregation laws. She eventually finds the courage to make it to her 'special place' - the Public Library. The one place that, at the time, accepted all people equally.
Thoughts of a Book Worm:
I truly enjoyed this book which gives readers a true perception of the life of a young girl during the time of segregation. McKissack shows the both the discouragement and strength of African Americans during this unjust period in history. The story is based on events from McKissack's own life growing up in Nashville.
Reviews:
"McKissack draws from her childhood in Nashville for this instructive picture book. "I don't know if I'm ready to turn you loose in the world," Mama Frances tells her granddaughter when she asks if she can go by herself to "Someplace Special" (the destination remains unidentified until the end of the story). 'Tricia Ann does obtain permission, and begins a bittersweet journey downtown, her pride battered by the indignities of Jim Crow laws. She's ejected from a hotel lobby and snubbed as she walks by a movie theater ("Colored people can't come in the front door," she hears a girl explaining to her brother. "They got to go 'round back and sit up in the Buzzard's Roost"). She almost gives up, but, buoyed by the encouragement of adult acquaintances ("Carry yo'self proud," one of her grandmother's friends tells her from the Colored section on the bus), she finally arrives at Someplace Special a place Mama Frances calls "a doorway to freedom" the public library. An afterword explains McKissack's connection to the tale, and by putting such a personal face on segregation she makes its injustices painfully real for her audience. Pinkney's (previously paired with McKissack for Mirandy and Brother Wind) luminescent watercolors evoke the '50s, from fashions to finned cars, and he captures every ounce of 'Tricia Ann's eagerness, humiliation and quiet triumph at the end." Ages 4-8 Publisher's Weekly Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
"Tricia Ann endures the indignities of segregation in the 1950s South, fortified with the love of her family and friends. As a Negro, she must sit at the back of the bus. Because of Jim Crow laws, she can only sit in the back of the balcony at the theater. When a crowd rushes into a plush downtown hotel following a celebrity, 'Tricia Ann is caught up in the throng—and then thrown out of the all-white establishment. She tolerates all of these insults because she is on her way to Someplace Special. That someplace is full of good things and it welcomes all people. That place is the Public Library. Based on McKissack's early life in Nashville, Tennessee, this is a story about how unfair life can be—and how love and persistence can triumph over injustice. Artwork is rendered in pencil and watercolor on paper by artist Jerry Pinkney, the only illustrator to have won the Coretta Scott King Award four times." Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer:Chris Gill -Children's Literature
Suggested Activities:
This book can help lead a discussion to how African Americans were treated differently during this period in time. Before reading the book, tell the girls that they seem hungry & could use a little snack. Give each girl 2-3 M&Ms or some other type of candy. Do not give any to the boys & do not offer any explanation other than the candies are only for the girls. Then read the book. After the book is read, ask the students how 'Tricia Ann felt as she went on her journey to the library. Discuss the fairness of the laws at the time. Now ask the boys how they felt being left out of the snack. Discuss whether or not that situation was 'fair'. At the end, give the boys some of the M&Ms.
Bibliography: McKissack, P.C. (2001). Goin' someplace special. New York: Scholastic Incorporated.
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