Picture Book

The Other Side

Woodson, Jacqueline. The Other Side. Ill. E. B. Lewis. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2001.

About the book: This is a story set in the time of segregated neighborhoods. Two little girls, Clover and Annie, live in a small, segregated town. Each girl’s mother tells her that she may not cross over the fence. But the girls begin talking and become friends. In the end they find a solution to their problem without exactly disobeying the directions they were given by their mothers. This book is on the Bluebonnet Award Master List for 2002-2003.

About the Author: Jacqueline Woodson grew up in Greenville, South Carolina and Brooklyn, New York. She experienced different cultures during her childhood that she uses today in her writing. While in the fifth grade she, helped with a literary magazine at school, which helped her begin her writing career. Multicultural literature impacted her decision to write. She saw herself in the stories of Toni Morrison, Louise Meriwether, and Rosa Guy. She decided that she wanted to begin writing this type of literature herself. Jacqueline Woodson has also authored Our Gracie Aunt; Sweet, Sweet Memory; and Miracle’s Boys.

About the Illustrator: E. B. Lewis is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He began aspiring to be an artist at an early age and started his training under the direction of an uncle, who was also an artist. He attended Temple University and specialized in Graphic Design and Illustration. He is an accomplished illustrator and currently teaches illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. E. B. Lewis has also illustrated Little Cliff and the Porch People; Little Cliff’s First Day of School; Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys; Jazz on Our Street, and The Bat Boy and His Violin.

Before Reading Activities: Have students write their own answers to the following questions. Then discuss the questions with students, either as a class or with the students put into small groups. Have students write down an answer for their group or for the class.

1. What are fences used for?

2. What is a neighbor?

3. What kind of relationships do people usually have with their neighbors?

After Reading Activities: Have the students discuss the following questions as a class or in small groups.

How did this story make you feel? Describe and explain.
What did you think of what Annie and Clover said on the last page of the story? (“Someday somebody’s going to come along and knock this old fence down,” Annie said. And I nodded. “Yeah,” I said. “Someday.”)
Do we have fences like this in our world today?

Have students rewrite the story using a fence that they see in today’s world.