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Summary
Summary
In a small upstate New York town during the Great Depression, three children Hibernia, Willie, and Otis are about to meet. Hibernia dreams of becoming a famous singer and performing at Harlem s swanky Savoy Ballroom. Willie is recovering from a tragedy that prevents him from becoming a junior boxing champ. Otis spends every night glued to the radio, listening to the voices that remind him of Daddy and Ma.
Each of them is looking for hope, and they all find it in the thrilling boxing matches of young Joe Louis. They know Joe has a good chance of becoming the country s next heavyweight champion. What they don t know is that during this unforgettable year, the three of them will become friends.
Award-winning and bestselling author Andrea Davis Pinkney masterfully tells a story of friendship and determination, set against the backdrop of America s golden age of radio."
Reviews 1
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8 During the Depression, three African American children-each dealing with sorrow and loss-root for their hero, boxing great Joe Louis. Turpin's rhythmic pacing depicts feisty Hibernia, who dreams of becoming a jazz singer. Ringo's subtle use of dialect portrays Willie's despair over hands crippled by his drunken, abusive father. Adkins's soothing cadence embodies Otis's sorrow as he clings to the precious Philco radio-all that is left of his parents. Their stories, told in alternating chapters, come together through music and boxing, giving listeners access to African American life in the mid-1930s. In an afterward, Pinkney describes family members whose lives intersect with the story and how she trained as a boxer to get the fight sequences right. Standard: Students will understand how the social and economic changes of the early 20th century, including the Great Depression, affected community life. Instructional extension: Information about the PBS film, The Fight, describing the background and history surrounding the 1938 Joe Louis-Max Schmeling prize fight, including primary sources, a timeline, and a teacher's guide: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fight/index.html. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
