Twenty-five years after it was first published, this special anniversary edition of the classic strikes as deep and powerful a note as ever. Taylor's vivid portrayal of ugly racism and the poignancy of Cassie's bewilderment and gradual toughening against social injustice and the men and women who perpetuate it, will remain with readers forever. Two award-winning sequels, Let the Circle Be Unbroken and The Road to Memphis, and a long-awaited prequel, The Land, continue the profoundly moving tale of the Logan family. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Product Description
The story of one African American family fighting to stay together and strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal in the Deep South of the 1930s.

I read this book on my own in third grade, and read it in school in eighth grade, so I think it has a good range of ages. I'm in college and I still like re-reading it. There are a lot of good themes/issues to explore with your kids or students if you read this book with them.


Read it again and again!   January 2, 1999
 27 out of 32 found this review helpful

I read Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor years ago as a college student studying to be a teacher. Reading it again with my sixth grade students reinforced my belief that Mildred Taylor is perhaps one of the best children's authors we have today. Everyone from age 10 to 99 should read this book. The story centers around the Logan family, an African American family struggling to survive in the turmoil of the 1930's. There are many reasons I love this book. The characters are well developed and believable. We come to know Cassie Logan, the main character and narrator of the book, as she confronts the harsh realities of discrimination. Mildred Taylor created an extremely likable character of Jeremy, a white boy who rejects his own family's behavior toward the Logan family. The plot unfolds slowly, almost deliberately, to provide us with the time to prepare for the stunning climax. One of the most memorable scenes is when the Logan children visit Mr. Berry, a man badly burned by three white men simply because of the color of his skin. Mildred Taylor's description is often difficult to read and yet necessary in order to gain a better understanding of the distruction hatred causes. Although I've never felt this kind of discrimination firsthand, I am grateful to Mildred Taylor for giving me the opportunity to open my eyes to the dark realities that existed back then and indeed, still exist today. Read this book slowly, carefully and again and again. You will not be the same after reading this extraordinary novel.


Powerful book for adolescents learning about courage   January 26, 1999
 22 out of 25 found this review helpful

Mildred D. Taylor has given adolescent readers a powerful account of the Great Depression and the economic hardships it placed on many families, particularly blacks. As seen through the eyes of the Logan family, students learn about the inequalities between blacks and whites, beginning with the four Logan children being splattered by mud from a school bus that transported white children only. A further indignity occurs when the Logans are given dirty, tattered textbooks that have been discarded by the school for whites.

Much of what Taylor describes in this novel packs a strong punch for adolescents. Further, to fully understand the story's context, students need to understand a good deal of U. S. history, specifically, the Great Depression, the Restoration, the sharecropping system, and segregation practices in the south during this period. Yet, teachers and students who take on the challenge will be well rewarded. Teachers and administrators in the Boston Public Schools have been so impressed by the powerful themes in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, that they have selected it as one of six core novels for sixth graders as part of the Max Warburg Courage Curriculum. The other five novels are: Taking Sides, Number the Stars, Bridge to Terabithia, So Far from the Bamboo Grove, and Maniac Magee. As with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, each novel addresses the theme of courage--different types of courage, what it takes to act courageously, and how even small acts of courage can have enormous consequences in everyday life.

As an Educational Consultant for the Courage Curriculum, I highly recommend Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Taylor does not speak down to students. Instead she presents them with genuine characters in a drama that reflects the story-telling tradition she was steeped in as a child.


Well-Crafted Tale Told With Skill   July 14, 2001
 20 out of 21 found this review helpful

Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a beautifully told tale spoken with the fine voice of its young narrator, Cassie Logan. It is the story of the Logan family and their struggle to maintain both their small piece of land and their dignity in one tumultuous year, two things not permitted a black family in Mississippi in the early decaces of this century. The author brilliantly captures the times of which she writes but, even more important, captures the people she writes about. There are not characters here who can be simply called victims or survivors or fighters or any other single term. These are fully developed personalities, particulary the children, that speak with authentic and complicated voices and spool out a tale that is heart breaking with equal parts despair and hope. A wonderful book for children.