Birmingham 1963, Carole Boston Weatherford
Birmingham 1963, Carole Boston Weatherford
List: $7.99 | Sale: $5.60
Club: $3.99

Birmingham 1963

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

Narrator: Lizzie Cooper Davis

Unabridged: 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 11/15/2013


Synopsis

In Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963, it is one little girl's 10th birthday. Excited about Youth Day at the 16th Street Baptist Church, she puts on her patent leather shoes and practices her choir solo. But her birthday will include no cake and no candles this year. A group of men have tucked a bundle of dynamite under the church's steps, and when it goes off, four girls are dead: AddieMae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair. Smoke clogs the throats of worshippers as they search for sisters, brothers, mothers, and fathers in the crumbled plaster and broken glass. Author Carole Boston Weatherford, an award-winning poet and children's author, shares this story in poignant free verse poetry from the viewpoint of a fictional child eyewitness. Listeners will be transported back to this dark period in American history by Lizzie Cooper Davis' moving narration. "These children-unoffending; innocent and beautiful-were the victims of one of the most vicious, heinous crimes ever perpetrated against humanity ... in spite of the darkness of this hour we must not despair. We must not become bitter ..."-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., eulogy for victims of the 16th Street Church bombing "To all who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. The struggle continues." -author's dedication

About Carole Boston Weatherford

Carole Boston Weatherford has written many award-winning books for children, including Kin, illustrated by her son Jeffery and a Coretta Scott King Author Honor recipient; Box, which won a Newbery Honor; Unspeakable, which won the Coretta Scott King Award, a Caldecott Honor, and was a finalist for the National Book Award; Respect: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award; ALA Notable Children’s Book You Can Fly; and Caldecott Honor winners Freedom in Congo Square; Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement; and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Carole lives in North Carolina. Visit her at CBWeatherford.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Taleah on October 03, 2016

I chose to rate this book 5 stars and add it to my favorites because it does a really good job of giving students and understanding and realistic glimpse into a very painful part of american history. I think this short story really helps bring history to life, especially from a childs perspective. T......more

Goodreads review by Katie on October 12, 2009

Very powerful book written in a contemporary poetry style. The poem tells the true story of four African American girls who were killed when the Ku Klux Klan placed sticks of dynamite in their church. Told from a fictional narrator, this book offers insight into the innocence of these young girls an......more

Goodreads review by Hayley on April 06, 2012

Told in poetry format this was a story that told about a true bombing which took place in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 which killed young girls. There was a very informative back section that explained some about the civil rights movement and how children were used in the fight against racism when ad......more

Goodreads review by Juliana on December 12, 2018

2007. Poetry/ historical non-fiction. A really moving and enlightening picture book in verse about the tragic racially motivated bombing in a church during the civil rights movement.......more

Goodreads review by Spencer on October 25, 2019

Simple clear poetry that explains an awful event with clear imagery. This book would be a great addition to any civil rights lessons in a classroom setting. The author's note adds a lot to the story as well.......more