By and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home a-waiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky."
from "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" by Ada R. Habershon
Since my discovery of a series of books by Mildred Taylor while teaching fifth grade, she has become one of my favorite authors! By far the best, and even a Newbery Medal winner (1977) was Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, an historical novel about a black family in rural Mississippi during the depression. It is a powerfully moving story that will make you laugh and cry and give you goosebumps. I read it aloud so many times to my students, I knew what was coming and my stomach would start churning or I would get a little choked up. The racism is pretty intense, but realistic, I think, and the upside is how the Logan family survives it all. The Horn Book says this: "The fear, cruelty, and the bewildering injustice of a hopelessly racist society are transcended by a family's strength, self-respect and determination."
Let the Circle Be Unbroken is the first sequel, a continuation of the Logan family saga, with similar themes and a few added characters and situations. For example, friend T. J. goes to trial for a crime that occurred in Roll of Thunder...., cousin Suzella passes for white and beloved neighbor Mrs. Lee Annie is determined to register to vote. The last two characters were introduced in this sequel along with some union men trying to enlist farmers, white and black, to fight back against the unjust system of government controls.
I was rereading this novel for the first time in quite a while and found it a page-turner since I had forgotten some of the details. It gets a 5 rating from me, along with anything else written by Mildred D. Taylor!
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