A Friendship for Today A Friendship for Today . McKissack, Patricia C.; Scholastic Press, 2007. Grade Level: Grades 3-5 ISBN & cost: 978-0-439-66098-3, $16.99 Blanket Permission to Reproduce Book Jackets: Used by permission of the Publisher |
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Synopsis:
Rosemary wonders if she'll ever fit in. A black student, she has been sent to an integrated, nearly all white school, where her old neighborhood nemesis (“Grace the Tasteless,” as Rosemary calls her), a white student, attends. On top of that, Rosemary has to deal with her own problems at home. Her parents aren't getting along, and her best friend is struck with polio.
General Review:
We all need to learn to practice “tolerance,” says Rosemary's teacher Mrs. Denapolis. Have you ever tried to get along with someone who from the outside appears to be very different from you? Rosemary and Grace KNOW they won't like each other even before the school year starts. Can they learn to tolerate each other? And what about “Katherine the Great Mouth,” who acts like she thinks she's better than both of them? There might be more than meets the eye to the real-life situation that somebody else lives in, but we may never even try to make friends with others we judge to be living in a world just too different from the way of life we know.
Themes: School integration, racism, race relations, divorce, African-Americans, friendship; Missouri history--20th Century, poliomyelitis
Author information: Volume 51, 73 Something About the Author
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3372
http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=20049
Discussion Questions: (Standard 3; Benchmark 3)
• What are some examples of prejudice in the story? Why do you think the author chooses to include them?
• Describe Vera's relationship with her mother. Describe her relationship with her father. How do these relationships affect her actions?
• What part does “Rags” play in the story?
• Does Rosemary learn “tolerance?” How does the story show this?
• How can you be a friend? What could you do to help Grace if she was in our class, and didn't have a dress to attend the Spring Garden Concert. Why won't her father let her accept Rosemary's the dress?
Activities:
• Research poliomyelitis. What causes it? How dangerous is it? How does it spread? What is the best treatment and how can it be prevented? Write a short paper explaining the disease and discussing how the treatment of the illness has changed over time. (Standard 2, Benchmark 4)
• Look up information on school integration in the United States. Draw a historical timeline of school integration in the United States, beginning in 1954. (Standard 3, Benchmark 1)
• For more information on “tolerance,” visit online the Museum of Tolerance, Simon Wiesenthal Center. http://www.museumoftolerance.com/ List five things you learned about the importance of tolerance. (Standard 3 Benchmark 3)
Similar Books for Further Reading
- Don't Say Ain't , by Small, Irene
- My Mother The Cheerleader , by Sharenow, Robert
- Where You Belong , by McGuigan , Mary Ann
