Nichols, J

SLIS 5960

May 18, 2002

Elementary Book:

Goin’ Someplace Special

Written by Patricia McKissack

Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

2002 Coretta Scott King Award for Excellence in Illustration

About the Book:

Based on the author’s youthful experiences, this book tells the story of young Tricia Ann’s first solo journey through segregated Nashville on the way to someplace special. Sometimes the journey becomes frightening, as when Tricia Ann is yelled at for accidentally wandering into the “whites only” Southland Hotel’s lobby. As she faces other examples of racism along the way, remembering her grandmother’s words helps Tricia Ann. Encouragement from some of the people she meets gives her the courage to believe in herself and complete her journey. Tricia Ann does reach someplace special—the Nashville Public Library, which in the late 1950’s had voted to integrate its facilities. This is an inspiring book about triumph over adversity and prejudice.

About the Author:

Patricia McKissack grew up in Nashville, Tennessee with loving grandparents who introduced her to reading and encouraged her love of literature. After attending Tennessee State University and Webster University, she became an 8^th grade teacher and later an editor, illustrator and author of children’s books. She and her husband, Frederick, have collaborated on several books and formed their own writing company, All Writing Services.

About the Illustrator:

Jerry Pinkney was born in Philadelphia and now lives in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. After graduating from the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, he first became a greeting card illustrator before opening his own art studio. His award-winning illustrations depict the individuality of the black community. He is the only illustrator to have won the Coretta Scott King Award four times. Additionally, he has received four Caldecott Honor Medals. His son, Brian, has followed in his father’s footsteps and is also a well-known children’s book illustrator.

Before Reading Activities:

What Do You Think?

1. Have students discuss the idea of a special place.

2. Have them identify special places they have visited.

After Reading Activities:

Discussing the Story

1. Discuss with students why the library was such a special place for Tricia Ann. 2. Why did she feel welcome there and unwelcome in other places?

3. Ask students if they have ever been someplace where they felt unwelcome.

Art:

Have students design a poster showing their special place.

Internet activities:

Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement:

http://www.wmich.edu/politics/mlk/

Discuss with students the important events and figures of the Civil Rights Movement.

Additional Reading:

Evans, Freddi Williams. A bus of our own. Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman

and Company, 2001.

• Although she really wants to go to school, walking the five miles is very difficult for Mabel Jean and the other black children, so she tries to find a way to get a bus for them the same as the white children have. Based on real events in Mississippi.

Rappaport, Doreen. Martin’s big words: the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New

York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2001

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 34). Looks at the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, explaining his work to bring about a peaceful end to segregation.

Ringgold, Faith. If a bus could talk: the story of Rosa Parks. New York: Simon

and Schuster, 1999.

• A biography of the African-American woman and civil rights worker whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus led to a boycott which lasted more than a year in Montgomery, Alabama.