Dear Parents,

The 6th graders are going to begin reading the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by
Mildred D. Taylor this week. It is a story set in the 1930s in Mississippi about an African-
American family who encounters many problems while trying to fight discrimination and
keep the land they love. It is told through the eyes of nine-year-old Cassie Logan. It is
Cassies story during a year when her family struggles to maintain their integrity, pride, and
independence. This book, the second of Mildred Taylors books about the Logan family, was
published in 1976 and won the Newbery Award, which recognizes excellence in books
written for children. The book was dedicated to Taylors father, who the characters of Stacey
and David were based on. As the author of ten novels for young readers, Taylor provides
historical fiction about life for black Americans in her award-winning series of novels about
the fictional Logan family. This novel does not gloss over historical or contemporary
realities. Even though terms are used in this book that are not politically correct, this book
depicts this era very well. In her acceptance speech for the 1997 Alan Award for significant
contributions to young adult literature, Taylor noted: "I have to be honest with myself in the
telling of all my stories. I realize I must be true to the feelings of the people about whom I
write and true to the stories told. My stories might not be 'politically correct,' so there will be
those who will be offended, but as we all know, racism is offensive."

We will be reading the book together as a class. We will be doing various activities along
with the reading as well as practicing our writing skills with a prompt. At the end of the
month we will be making a collage together and a diorama, so if you have old magazines and
shoe boxes you would like to donate it would be much appreciated.

This is an excellent book and one that I have used for many years with 5th and 6th graders. It
remains a favorite of many of those students. There are wonderful themes to explore
throughout the book: family, courage, friendship, perseverance. However, the words and the
events are sometimes quite harsh I am confident that our 6th graders are mature enough to
read, understand, and discuss this book in a classroom setting.

Please sign and return the slip below to let me know you have read this letter and discussed
with your child the importance of maturity when reading and discussing this novel. If you
have any questions at all, please dont hesitate to e-mail or call me.

Sincerely,
Ms. Baggett



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I have read the letter and have discussed with my child the importance of maturity in reading
and discussing this novel in the classroom.

Childs name ___________________________


Parent Signature ________________________