Module 10 - The Other Side

March 25-31, 2013

ALA Notable Book

2001 Time of Wonder Award

2002 IRA Teacher’s Choice Award

2004 Louisiana Young Reader’s Choice Award

California Young Reader Medal Nominee

2003-2004 South Carolina Book Award Nominee

Bibliography:

Woodson, J. (2001). The other side. New York: Putnam's.

Summary:

Set in the South during a time of prejudice and segregation, Clover and Annie live on opposite sides of the same fence. They don’t understand why they cannot play together but they are from different races. Set in a time where races did not mingle, the girls balance obeying their mothers’ wishes to stay on their own side with wanting to play and build relationships.

Impressions:

Although I was not born yet when these issues were prominent, I recall my grandmother’s prejudices because of her upbringing in Arkansas and distinctly remember not being able to have friends over who were not white. In elementary I was one of three white kids in the entire school and I saw no differences. Color never mattered to me, as with these two children. It is the prejudice of the parents and their generation that was being impressed upon them and they were making their own choices. I felt a familiarity with this story and will share it and my own experiences with my children as they grow older.

Reviews:

Told by their mamas to stay on their own sides of the fence that divides their racially segregated town, two little girls (one black and one white) find a way to straddle the barrier and become friends. Glorious watercolors capture the long summer days. It's a slice of recent American history made accessible to young children.

Rovenger, J. (2001). The other side. Scholastic Parent & Child, 9, 18.

A fence in rural segregated America separates two girls, one African American and one white. Their mothers tell them not to go on the other side of the fence, but they never forbade sitting on the fence; through that beginning, the girls become friends. Their friendship shows how people can take small steps to change a negative environment.

Goss, G. (2004). The other side. Book Links, 13, 26.

Uses:

In addition to Martin’s Big Words, I would use this book to read to lower grades when they are studying Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights. It is useful for interpreting the prejudices of adults passed down to the children who don’t understand.