Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Black History Month

Staff recommendations, guest essays, and curated reading lists.

The stunning repackage of a timeless Newbery Award Winner, with cover art by two-time Caldecott Honor Award winner Kadir Nelson!

With the land to hold them together, nothing can tear the Logans apart.

Why is the land so important to Cassie's family? It takes the events of one turbulent year — the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she is black — to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family's lifeblood. It is the land that gives the Logans their courage and pride, for no matter how others may degrade them, the Logans possess something no one can take away.

• Newbery Medal winner
• A National Book Award Nominee
• American Book Award Honor Book
• An ALA Notable Book
• A NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book

"This recently published special 40th anniversary edition of the Newbery-Award winning coming-of-age story features gorgeous new cover art by Kadir Nelson....the 10-year-old narrator, Cassie, is an inspirational protagonist for boys and girls of all ages." Ebony

"The strong, clear-headed Logan family...are drawn with quiet affection and their actions tempered with a keen sense of human fallibility." Kirkus Reviews

"Taylor...writes not with rancor or bitterness of indignities, but with pride, strength, and respect for humanity." The New York Times Book Review

"Entirely through its own internal development, the novel shows the rich inner rewards of black pride, love, and independence despite the certainty of outer defeat." Booklist (Starred Review)

Mildred D. Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. After graduating from the University of Toledo, she spent two years in Ethiopia with the Peace Corps teaching English and history. As a member of the Black Student Alliance, at the University of Colorado, she worked with students and university officials in structuring a Black Studies program at the university. Upon receiving her master's degree, she worked in the Black Education Program as study skills coordinator. She currently lives in Colorado.