"I guess I've learned it's not enough to just think things. You have to say them too. Because all the words in the world won't do much good if they're just rattling around in your head." Marlee Nisbett pg. 1 The Lions of Little Rock
It's the fall of 1958 and twelve year old Marlee Nesbitt is about to start middle school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Starting middle school is a big enough worry for shy Marlee, but to make matters worse her older brother, David, has gone off to college and her older sister, Judy, has moved out of the room she and Marlee have shared all Marlee's life. As the school year starts, these turn out to be the least of Marlee's worries. Little Rock, Arkansas was an unstable place; the previous school year (1957-58) was the historic year the Little Rock Nine * attended Central High School. The 1958-59 school year was also historic; as Marlee started the seventh grade, her older sister Judy was unable to start the eleventh grade at Central High School, because rather than have whites and blacks attend school together the governor ordered the high school closed. When the schools didn't reopen by the end of September, Judy was sent to live with their grandmother, 45 minutes away in Pine Bluff, so she could go to school.
At the middle school, Marlee meets the new girl Liz, who genuinely seems to want to be friends with her. When their history teacher announces they will all have to make a presentation to the class, Liz asks Marlee to be her partner and offers to help Marlee overcome her fear of speaking to people. The two girls spend afternoons at the zoo, so Marlee can practice her speaking parts to the animals, but when the day of the presentation comes Liz is mysteriously absent from school. The rumor at lunch is that Liz is "colored" and was trying to pass for white, and that she won't be coming back. Marlee is upset, but gathers up all her courage and gives the history presentation, then she gathers up even more courage and continues to be friends with Liz despite the warnings of danger from both girls parents. However, when the danger becomes a reality and nine sticks of dynamite fall into the wrong hands, can Marlee find her voice again and keep anyone form getting hurt?
This moving story about the struggle for desegregation in Little Rock, while fictional, is based on historical events and gives readers a glimpse into what it might have been like to live through this challenging situation.
* Little Rock Nine: was a group of nine African American students, who in September of 1957, courageously ignored the segregation orders of the governor and enrolled at Little Rock's Central High.
Check out The Lions of Little Rock and other books about children struggling with social and racial prejudices:
Crow by Barbara Wright
Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
Wonder by RJ Palacio
It's the fall of 1958 and twelve year old Marlee Nesbitt is about to start middle school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Starting middle school is a big enough worry for shy Marlee, but to make matters worse her older brother, David, has gone off to college and her older sister, Judy, has moved out of the room she and Marlee have shared all Marlee's life. As the school year starts, these turn out to be the least of Marlee's worries. Little Rock, Arkansas was an unstable place; the previous school year (1957-58) was the historic year the Little Rock Nine * attended Central High School. The 1958-59 school year was also historic; as Marlee started the seventh grade, her older sister Judy was unable to start the eleventh grade at Central High School, because rather than have whites and blacks attend school together the governor ordered the high school closed. When the schools didn't reopen by the end of September, Judy was sent to live with their grandmother, 45 minutes away in Pine Bluff, so she could go to school.
At the middle school, Marlee meets the new girl Liz, who genuinely seems to want to be friends with her. When their history teacher announces they will all have to make a presentation to the class, Liz asks Marlee to be her partner and offers to help Marlee overcome her fear of speaking to people. The two girls spend afternoons at the zoo, so Marlee can practice her speaking parts to the animals, but when the day of the presentation comes Liz is mysteriously absent from school. The rumor at lunch is that Liz is "colored" and was trying to pass for white, and that she won't be coming back. Marlee is upset, but gathers up all her courage and gives the history presentation, then she gathers up even more courage and continues to be friends with Liz despite the warnings of danger from both girls parents. However, when the danger becomes a reality and nine sticks of dynamite fall into the wrong hands, can Marlee find her voice again and keep anyone form getting hurt?
This moving story about the struggle for desegregation in Little Rock, while fictional, is based on historical events and gives readers a glimpse into what it might have been like to live through this challenging situation.
* Little Rock Nine: was a group of nine African American students, who in September of 1957, courageously ignored the segregation orders of the governor and enrolled at Little Rock's Central High.
Check out The Lions of Little Rock and other books about children struggling with social and racial prejudices:
Crow by Barbara Wright
Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
Wonder by RJ Palacio
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