The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Title: The Other Side
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; 9th Printing edition
Release date: January 2001
Pages: 32
ISBN-13: 978-0399231162


Summary:
Amazon:
"Woodson (If You Come Softly; I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This) lays out her resonant story like a poem, its central metaphor a fence that divides blacks from whites. Lewis's (My Rows and Piles of Coins) evocative watercolors lay bare the personalities and emotions of her two young heroines, one African-American and one white. As the girls, both instructed by their mothers not to climb over the fence, watch each other from a distance, their body language and facial expressions provide clues to their ambivalence about their mothers' directives. Intrigued by her free-spirited white neighbor, narrator Clover watches enviously from her window as "that girl" plays outdoors in the rain. And after footloose Annie introduces herself, she points out to Clover that "a fence like this was made for sitting on"; what was a barrier between the new friends' worlds becomes a peaceful perch where the two spend time together throughout the summer. By season's end, they join Clover's other pals jumping rope and, when they stop to rest, "We sat up on the fence, all of us in a long line." Lewis depicts bygone days with the girls in dresses and white sneakers and socks, and Woodson hints at a bright future with her closing lines: "Someday somebody's going to come along and knock this old fence down," says Annie, and Clover agrees. Pictures and words make strong partners here, convincingly communicating a timeless lesson"


http://www.amazon.com/Other-Side-Jacqueline-Woodson/dp/0399231161/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288637996&sr=1-1


In the classroom:
This is a story of a friendship that overcomes the racial divide at the time.  It's a beautiful story of young girls that shows the innocence of young people and how they are judgement free and curious.  A lesson can be learned from the two girls in this story no matter the age of the reader.  The book carries such a big message in such little words.  

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Title: The Color Purple

Author: Alice Walker

Publisher: Mariner Books; 1 edition

Release date: November 2006

Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 978-0156031820

Summary:

Amazon:

"Novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black woman's struggle for empowerment, the novel was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black English vernacular. Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister's letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self."

http://www.amazon.com/Color-Purple-Alice-Walker/dp/0156031825/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288635542&sr=1-1

In the classroom:

The recent musical that this book was made into has the potential to spark interest for students to get familiar with the story.  Students get a woman's perspective of the issues and hardships that came alone with slavery in America.  It's an empowering story that I think a lot of students, boys and girls, would enjoy.