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🧲 Books like this

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Mildred D. Taylor Β· back to the book

What’s in it

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24 books with the same feel

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The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

Christopher Paul Curtis Β· 239 pages

The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.

RacismLarge FamilyRacial ViolenceLoss of Innocence
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To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee Β· 309 pages

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and voted one of the best novels of the 20th century by librarians across the United States. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poi

Racial ViolenceRacismBildungsromanLoss of Innocence
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Sounder

William H. Armstrong Β· 116 pages

Angry and humiliated when his sharecropper father is jailed for stealing food for his family, a young black boy grows in courage and understanding by learning to read and through his relationship with his devoted dog Sounder.

RacismLoss of InnocenceRacial ViolenceComing of Age
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By the Shores of Silver Lake

Laura Ingalls Wilder Β· 290 pages

The Ingalls family had fared badly in Plum Creek, Minnesota. They were in debt. Mary was blind now. So Pa went West to work at a railroad camp in Dakota Territory where he could make as much as fifty dollars a month! Then he sent for his wife and four children, and they became the first settlers in the new town of De Smet. But the railroad brought hordes of land-hungry people from the East. Had Pa

Large FamilyHopefulChildren'sComing of Age
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Rilla of Ingleside

L.M. Montgomery Β· 277 pages

Fifteen-year-old Rilla, the daughter of Anne Shirley Blythe, grows from a carefree, irresponsible girl into a strong and capable young woman during the war years, 1914-1918.

Loss of InnocenceHopefulRural FarmClassics
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The Power of One

Bryce Courtenay Β· 518 pages

Follows Peekay, a white British boy in South Africa during World War II, between the ages of five and eleven, as he survives an abusive boarding school and goes on to succeed in life and the boxing ring, with help from a chicken, a boxer, a pianist, black African prisoners, and many others.

Racial ViolenceRacismBildungsromanHopeful
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Brown Girl Dreaming

Jacqueline Woodson Β· 368 pages

Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement.

RacismChild NarratorChildren'sHopeful
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Zora and Me

Victoria Bond, T.R. Simon

A fictionalized account of Zora Neale Hurston's childhood with her best friend Carrie, in Eatonville, Florida, as they learn about life, death, and the differences between truth, lies, and pretending. Includes an annotated bibliography of the works of Zora Neale Hurston, a short biography of the author, and information about Eatonville, Florida.

Racial ViolenceLoss of InnocenceRacismMiddle Grade
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The Silver Star

Jeannette Walls Β· 304 pages

Two motherless sisters--Bean and Liz--are shuttled to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that's been in their family for generations. When school starts in the fall, Bean easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz becomes increasingly withdrawn. Then something happens to Liz and Bean is left to challenge the injustice of the adult world.

BildungsromanHopefulLoss of InnocenceAmerican South
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The Hundred Dresses

Eleanor Estes Β· 80 pages

Wanda wore the same faded blue dress to school every day. It was always clean but sometimes it looked as though it had been washed and never ironed. Peggy started the game of the dresses when suddenly one day Wanda said, "I have a hundred dresses at home β€” all lined up in my closet." After that it was fun to stop Wanda on the way to school and ask, "How many dresses did you say you have?" "A hundr

Child NarratorChildren'sMiddle GradeHopeful
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Bridge to Terabithia

Katherine Paterson Β· 144 pages

The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.

Children'sLoss of InnocenceRural FarmHopeful
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Old Yeller

Fred Gipson Β· 158 pages

At first, Travis couldn't stand the sight of Old Yeller. The stray dog was ugly, and a thieving rascal, too. But he sure was clever, and a smart dog could be a big help on the wild Texas frontier, especially with Papa away on a long cattle drive up to Abilene. Strong and courageous, Old Yeller proved that he could protect Travis's family from any sort of danger. But can Travis do the same for O

Loss of InnocenceRural FarmMiddle GradeClassics
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A Lesson Before Dying

Ernest J. Gaines Β· 256 pages

In his first novel in ten years, Ernest Gaines, the highly acclaimed author of the best-selling The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, brings us a wrenching story of death and identity in a small Cajun Louisiana community in the late 1940s. A young black named Jefferson is a reluctant party in a shoot-out in a liquor store in which the three other men involved are all killed, including the white

Racial ViolenceRacismClassicsAmerican South
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One Crazy Summer

Rita Williams-Garcia Β· 232 pages

Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the pas

RacismChild NarratorHopefulMiddle Grade
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain Β· 330 pages

RacismBildungsromanChild NarratorComing of Age
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Friedrich

Hans Peter Richter

RacismRacial ViolenceChild NarratorLoss of Innocence
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The Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison Β· 181 pages

Each night Pecola prayed for blue eyes. In her eleven years, no one had ever noticed Pecola. But with blue eyes, she thought, everything would be different. She would be so pretty that her parents would stop fighting. Her father would stop drinking. Her brother would stop running away. If only she could be beautiful. If only people would look at her. When someone finally did, it was her fath

Racial ViolenceRacismLoss of InnocenceChild Narrator
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Shiloh

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Β· 128 pages

Loss of InnocenceRural FarmHopefulMiddle Grade
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The House on Mango Street

Sandra Cisneros Β· 110 pages

NATIONAL BESTSELLER β€’ A coming-of-age classic, acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the worldβ€”from the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for he

Child NarratorBildungsromanLoss of InnocenceHopeful
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The Dry Grass of August

Anna Jean Mayhew Β· 320 pages

RacismRacial ViolenceLoss of InnocenceComing of Age
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Holes

Louis Sachar Β· 240 pages

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day, digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green

Racial ViolenceRacismChildren'sComing of Age
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Sarah, Plain and Tall

Patricia MacLachlan Β· 64 pages

This Newbery Medal winning book and children's literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love. The 30th Anniversary edition includes author Patricia MacLachlan s Newbery speech, discussion guide a

Child NarratorChildren'sRural FarmMiddle Grade
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Sugar

Jewell Parker Rhodes Β· 272 pages

In 1870, Reconstruction brings big changes to the Louisiana sugar plantation where spunky ten-year-old Sugar has always lived, including her friendship with Billy, the son of her former master, and the arrival of workmen from China. In the 1870s, Reconstruction brings big changes to the Louisiana sugar plantation where spunky ten-year-old Sugar has always lived, including her growing friendship w

RacismChild NarratorRural FarmHopeful
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Eight Cousins

Louisa May Alcott Β· 216 pages

Rose, a shy orphan, blossoms in the company of her spirited relatives when she takes up residence at "The Aunt Hill." This captivating novel by the author of Little Women offers readers of all ages endearing, inspiring stories about growing up, making friends, and facing life with kindness and courage.

BildungsromanLarge FamilyHopefulChildren's
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