Module 10 - Fire From the Rock

Fire From the Rock

by Sharon M. Draper

ISBN 978-0-525-47720-4

Summary:
It is 1957 and Sylvia Patterson is looking forward to high school in Little Rock Arkansas.  Her plans for school dances, joining clubs, and possibly even having a boyfriend are challenged when the school board announces it will integrate Central High School.  Sylvia's teacher recommends her name be put on the list, and Sylvia and her family agree.  Placing her name on the list is an honor, but also a burden.  There are black families in her neighborhood that do not agree with her decision and Sylvia must decide between helping bring about change and remaining safe and doing what is the right thing for her and her family.

My Impressions:
This book gave such a different side of the integration issue.  We see Sylvia Patterson who, at first, is thrilled to have her name on the list for Central High School.  But as tensions in her neighborhood rise, and she begins to witness firsthand some of the backlash of choosing to be one of the first black students at an all white high school, Sylvia realizes there is more at stake and she realizes she may not be as brave as she thought she was.  I loved her mother and her calmness, her proverbs that she spoke in times of angst or hurt, and how she was always there for her children.  Draper showed racism from another angle in this book as Sylvia's best friend, a Jewish girl named Rachel Zucker, and her family are tormented and their store is vandalized.  I think this is an excellent read for high school students who are studying the civil rights movement or who are studying biographies.  

Professional Reviews:

An honor student, Sylvia Patterson is thrilled when she is chosen as one of the first black students to integrate all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. But the racism in her town is terrifying, and she is not sure she can go through with it. Unlike her older brother, she does not want to be a hero and change the world. Besides, many in her black community are against integration; why not stay with her friends, concentrate on academics, and get to college? With stirring complexity, Draper personalizes the civil rights struggle beyond slogans and politics. There is sometimes too much historical background purposively woven into Sylvia’s narrative, including her diary entries. But the surprising turnaround in the plot, as well as the shocking facts, will grab readers and raise the elemental issue: what would I have done? A final note fills in history and provides a list of Web sites. Pair this with Robert Sharenow’s My Mother the Cheerleader (2007), about a white kid whose mother is part of the racist mob. 
Rochman, H. (2007). Fire from the rock. Booklist, 103(22), 63.

Having Fun in the Library:
I think this would be a good book to book talk.  I would pair it with My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow and Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals.  I could do this in conjunction with a history unit on civil rights.  
I could also take some quotes from the book, put them on posters and put a different poster on each table in the library.  Then the students could write down, silently, their responses to the quotes.  At the end of the class we could read a few out loud and even hang the posters in the library.

Draper, S. M.  (2007).  Fire from the rock.  New York: Dutton Children's Books.