With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954 (Dear America Series)

by Andrea Davis Pinkney Narrated by Channie Waites

Overview

Coretta Scott King winner Andrea Davis Pinkney brings her talents to a brand-new Dear America diary about the Civil Rights Movement.

In the fall of 1955, twelve-year-old Dawn Rae Johnson's life turns upside down. After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Dawnie learns she will be attending a previously all-white school. She's the only one of her friends to go to this new school and to leave the comfort of all that is familiar to face great uncertainty in the school year ahead. However, not everyone supports integration and much of the town is outraged at the decision.

Dawnie must endure the harsh realities of racism firsthand, while continuing to work hard to get a good education and prove she deserves the opportunity. But the backlash against Dawnie's attendance of an all-white school is more than she's prepared for. When her father loses his job as a result, and her little brother is constantly bullied, Dawnie has to wonder if it's worth it. In time, Dawnie learns that the true meaning of justice comes from remaining faithful to the integrity within oneself.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Funny, determined, and insightful, With the Might of Angels introduces a new generation of kids to an important period in American history. This wonderful fictional character and her real-life heroes will inspire generations to come." — Sharon Robinson, critically acclaimed author of The Hero Two Doors Down"Dawnie is a wonderfully drawn character whose lively and poignant diary entries — including letters to her hero, Jackie Robinson — detail her dreams, fears, frustrations, and achievements, personalizing segregation's and integration's diverse impacts." — Booklist"Outstanding . . . Pinkney paints a vivid picture." — Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Coretta Scott King Award–winner Pinkney provides an outstanding contribution to the Dear America series with the diary of the (fictional) first African-American student to integrate the segregated schools of Hadley, Va.

Pinkney paints a vivid picture of a bright 12-year-old who is athletic, fun-loving and full of dreams. She admires Jackie Robinson and is fiercely protective of her autistic younger brother. Shortly after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision is handed down, Dawnie Rae is selected as one of three African-American children who will integrate the Prettyman Coburn school. True to the series' format, the fictional diary entries, chronicle the both events of the primary story arc and fill in telling details of the time and place. Today's readers may well be stunned when Dawnie Rae's Mama and Daddy bluntly tell her the family doesn't have enough money to buy a television, and she goes on to muse about the buying power of the 1954 nickel. While many contemporary accounts of the Civil Rights movement focus on the courage, integrity and character of those who pioneered the struggle, Pinkney does a commendable job imagining both the setting and the inner emotions that ordinary children might have wrestled with as they stepped into history.

A solid entry in an ever-popular series. (historical note, photographs, biographical notes, time line)(Historical fiction. 8-14)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169847444
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2011
Series:	Dear America Series
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

From Dear America: With the Might of Angels

This morning when I sat down, Daddy took a break from his breakfast reading. The little smile playing in his eyes told me a surprise was brewing. He looked at me for a long moment. "Happy birthday, Dawnie."

Then he pushed that New York paper under my nose. "Here, child."

He was eager to show me the front page headline. "Clip this for your new diary."

I looked carefully.

Daddy told me to read what I saw. He said, "Speak loud enough to scare some pigeons."

I read slowly, pressing each word into the warm morning air.

Washington - May 17, 1954

High Court Bans School Segregation: 9-to-0

Decision Grants Time to Comply

Seems Mama already knew the news.

Didn't take her but a minute to hand me a pair of scissors from her sewing basket, and a tin of paste from her craft bin.

"Make your birthday book look pretty," Goober said.

Nobody even had to tell me what to do. I knew right off why those scissors and paste brush were suddenly in my hands.

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