barnesandnoble.com
Ever since it won the 1977 Newbery Medal, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry has engaged and affected millions of readers everywhere. This special 25th anniversary edition celebrates the timelessness of this beloved classic -- and introduces it to a new audience. Set in a small town in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this powerful, moving novel deals with issues of prejudice, courage, and self-respect. It is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. It is also the story of Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to her family. The racial tension and harrowing events experienced by young Cassie, her family, and her neighbors cause Cassie to grow up and discover the reality of her environment.
Booklist
Entirely through its own internal development, the novel shows the rich inner rewards of black pride, love, and independence.
From the Publisher
"The vivid story of a black family whose warm ties to each other and their land give them strength to defy rural Southern racism during the Depression. . . . Entirely through its own internal development, the novel shows the rich inner rewards of black pride, love, and independence despite the certainty of outer defeat." —Booklist (starred review)
"The strong, clear-headed Logan family . . . are drawn with quiet affection and their actions tempered with a keen sense of human fallibility."—pointer, Kirkus Reviews
"The events and setting of the powerful novel are presented with such verisimilitude and the characters are so carefully drawn that one might assume the book to be autobiographical, if the author were not so young."—The Horn Book
FEB/MAR 02 - AudioFile
Mildred Taylor’s Newbery Award-winning book is the bittersweet and beautifully written story of the Logans, a poor black family struggling through poverty and racism in Depression-era Mississippi. Through the eyes of Cassie, the feisty only daughter, we come to admire the dignity, courage, and resourcefulness of this close-knit family. Lynne Thigpen is the ideal choice for this book. Having read the book and listened to the audio, I have to say I got the keenest pleasure from listening. Thigpen gives a keenly felt portrayal of each character, capturing the nuances and inflections in the voices of people driven nearly to despair, as well as tender moments of compassion between parent and child. There is an especially poignant moment when the children witness a near lynching that she handles with wonderful aplomb. Listening to her eloquent reading brings an already powerful story vividly to life in a performance you’ll find hard to shut off and sorry to see end. D.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
