Birmingham, 1963

A Jane Addams Children's Honor Book

Written by Children's Literature Legacy Award winner Carole Boston Weatherford, this poetic tribute to the victims of the racially motivated church bombing that served as a seminal event in the struggle for civil rights is a book that captures the heartbreak of that day, as seen through the eyes of a fictional witness.

In 1963, the eyes of the world were on Birmingham, Alabama, a flashpoint for the civil rights movement. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Civil rights demonstrators were met with police dogs and water cannons. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, members of the Ku Klux Klan planted sticks of dynamite at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which served as a meeting place for civil rights organizers. The explosion killed four little girls. Their murders shocked the nation and turned the tide in the struggle for equality. Poignant text written in free verse pairs with archival photographs in this powerful memorial to the young victims.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Wordsong
Published: 09/01/2007
ISBN: 9781590784402
Pages: 40
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.14h x 7.84w x 0.42d
Award: Jefferson Cup - Winner
Award: Rhode Island Children's Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Jane Addams Children's Book Award - Honor Book
Award: North Carolina Children's Book Award - Nominee

Review Citations: Kirkus Review - Children 08/15/2007 pg. 870
Booklist 09/15/2007 pg. 64
Kirkus Best Children's Books 11/15/2007 pg. 1
School Library Journal 12/01/2007 pg. 159
Multicultural Review 03/01/2008 pg. 83

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 116743 / Birmingham, 1963
Reading Level: 4.4 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 0.5