Leon's Story by Leon Walter Tillage

This heartbreaking true story tells the tale of a little boy growing up in the 40's and 50's. The short, easy to read novel discusses segregation, violence against African Americans, and so many other issues. It is very concise and gives many descriptive, thought provoking stories without becoming too wordy.

I think that an amazing idea to teach your children about the horrors of our history would be to have a book club. I'd make sure the kids knew how to self-select a book and then I'd give the students a few choices (Leon's story, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Meet Addy, The Watson's Go to Birmingham, etc.) and let them choose a book they would be interested in and is just the right level of difficulty. I would then form students into groups of 4 or 5 based on their requests and their needs.

This book is most certainly on my to-buy list!!!