Bone by Bone by Bone written by Tony Johnston
It is 1951 in Tennessee, and David Church is about to meet his best friend on Halloween night. Malcolm Deeter was dressed as a ghost and was being pecked by Hell, the meanest rooster in the world. David rescues him from Hell and would like to be Malcolm's friend, but his dad, Dr. Church, warns him that he is not to play with "niggers." David and Malcolm become inseparable and they even become blood brothers. Dr. Church warns David that if he ever brings Malcolm into the house he will shoot him. David does not understand why his dad hates colored people, so he devises a plan to make his dad like Malcolm. Since Dr. Church likes Jackie Robinson, he asks Malcolm to try out the all white baseball team in their town. Malcolm asks the coach if he could try out , but the coach tells him he does not allow "niggers" in his team. David stands up for Malcolm, but Malcolm blames David for setting him up for ridicule. They don't see each other for a while, until David hears some screaming in the street. Judge Haggard is holding onto Malcolm so he wouldn't run away and a group of men are goading Hell onto Malcolm. David runs in between Malcolm and Hell and yells to the men to let him go. They finally let him go and David realizes that his dad was part of the group. Dr. Church tells him it was just a joke. On Christmas day, Mr. Swann, a colored, old man knocks on the door and asks Dr. Church if he could spare some food for him. Dr. Church insults him, tells him to go away, and refuses to give him any food. Malcolm, with his Uncle Lucas help, gives Mr. Swann a plate full of their Christmas dinner. Around the time that David became thirteen, Malcolm was being chased by a Klan member and he was trying to seek help at David's house. Dr. Church refused to let him in, but David went against his dad's wishes and let Malcolm into the house. As soon as Dr. Church sees Malcolm coming in, he grabs his gun and aims at Malcolm. David gets in front of Malcolm and gets shot by his dad with rock salt. Malcolm knew his dad was never going to change and he wasn't about to live with a man that hated colored people. He did now want to be like his father so he packed up his belongings and left to live with his Uncle Lucas. This is a powerful novel about how families are torn apart as a result of the hate they have for people that are colored. I cheered for Malcolm every time he defied his father and defended Malcolm as true friends should. I would recommend this book to history classes and middle/ upper grade students. It could also be recommended to reluctant readers since the vocabulary is simple and the book is not too long.
No comments:
Post a Comment