Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Nine-year-old Cassie Logan lives with her family on their own land in rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, a rare thing for a Black family in the 1930s South. Over the course of one school year, Cassie begins to see the injustice around her: the worn-out books handed down to Black students, the threats that hang over the community, and the pressure from a powerful white neighbor who wants the Logans' land. Her parents and grandmother work to protect the family's independence and teach their children to hold on to their self-respect. Mildred D. Taylor tells the story through Cassie's sharp, spirited voice, making it both a family story and a portrait of the era. The novel won the Newbery Medal.