BIBLIOGRAPHY
McKissack, Patricia. 2005. ABBY TAKES A STAND. Illus. by Gordon C. James. Penguin Group: New York. ISBN: 0-670-06011-9.
PLOT SUMMARY
Gee’s grandchildren stumble upon some mementos or “scraps of time” while in the attic. When one of the children picks up an old restaurant menu, Gee, also known as Abby, retells the events of 1960 in Nashville, Tennessee. When Gee was not given service because of the color of her skin, she and her mother are drawn into the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960s. Gee becomes an activist and joins the flyer brigade and watches as family and friends risk everything to participate in sit-ins and to enact social change. Gee learns about being involved in something bigger than oneself. The efforts in their area of Nashville were successful. Gee’s grandchildren continue exploring the attic finding other items that could be a story in the future.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Patricia McKissack uses a flashback sequence to tell of one woman’s experience with the Civil Rights movement. This woman, now a grandmother, is sharing this first hand experience with her grandchildren, the next generation of potential activists.
ABBY TAKES A STAND is a triumphant tale of a young girl’s involvement with the Civil Rights movement. The action is well paced and plausible. The plot is well constructed, well researched, and logical. Although these events are not based on a true story, they fit into historical accounts of events. Abby does not begin the story as an activist. She is an accidental advocate. Abby and her mother become involved in the movement because of a first hand experience, not the hearsay or words of others.
Due to the nature of the events in the story, the mood is often tense and stressful. Activists are attacked with eggs and words. But hopelessness never lasts. Ms. McKissack always inserts a character’s voice that raises the mood and the spirits of the activists. This also raises the spirits of the readers. The tension reaches a plateau when the Patsy returns from her summer trip and wants to go Downtown to see what is going on. When Patsy and Abby arrive, they are surprised by the anger and hatred they see. A mob has formed and is threatening to lynch the protestors. Seeing the face of the movement so close overwhelms the girls, but they understand what they are fighting for and against. Ms. McKissack does not leave the reader with this sullen mood. The protestors are successful in Nashville, and she leaves the activists and the readers victorious.
Character development is vital but takes a backseat to the events of this novel. However, Ms. McKissack does develop the characters thoroughly enough to support the credibility of the events. She does not provide characterization of Abby’s young grandchildren. Readers learn their names and see an illustration of these children, but they are not part of the story. Readers are quickly introduced to Abby, her best friend Patsy, and their secret handshake. They are typical young girls who giggle and want to share secrets. Abby’s mother is a strong female character. It is revealed that her husband passed away years ago, but when Abby is wronged in Harvey’s Department Store, she does not hesitate to defend her daughter and their rights, even without the protection of a man. Abby’s cousin John also becomes involved in the Civil Rights struggle after Abby’s encounter in Harvey’s Department Store. Ms. McKissack wisely makes John’s parents resistant to involvement in the movement. This adds realism and credibility. Not all African Americans supported sit-ins, marches, and boycotts.
The illustrations in ABBY TAKES A STAND are limited. The isolated illustrations present add depth and understanding to the story. The illustrations are black and white. This could be viewed as symbolic of the Civil Rights Struggle. Even without vivid color, Gordon C. James does an excellent job reflecting a distinction between the faces, skin tones, clothing, and hair styles of the characters. Readers can tell a difference between the characters. Every face is not a copy of the one next to it. The sketch-like quality of the illustrations makes each image seem as if it were drawn by a spectator. This makes the drawings seem more realistic, and the overall story seem more credible.
The text continues to reflect this web of cultural authenticity. The story’s language pattern reflects careful research into the time period and the events. This story takes place in 1960. Current urban slang is not included. Neither is the black dialect read so often in books from the era of the 1920s-1930s. That is not how African Americans talked in the 1960s, and Ms. McKissack is certain not to further linguistic stereotypes by utilizing that language style.
Religion was an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement. ABBY TAKES A STAND is accurate in its reflection of this bond. Churches were havens for meetings. They could hold large numbers of people, and people could meet initially without garnering suspicion. In this story, Civil Rights meetings and sit-in planning meetings are held at the First Baptist Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Many of the speakers are preachers. One preacher encouraged the crowd by singing an old Negro Spiritual. Those spirituals offered words and sounds of encouragement and solidarity. They reminded the listeners of how to act and how to react.
ABBY TAKES A STAND is a novel that tackles a difficult topic, racism, and leaves the reader with a powerful message of hope and change. This book presents tense images without over dramatization and moralizing. This would be an excellent book to use to introduce the Civil Rights Movement creatively. This will broaden readers’ view of the movement without solely relying on Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks biographies.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
From BOOKLIST—“Although short and simply told, the book gives readers a kid's-eye view of important happenings and reminds them that history is something that is always in the making. Fine black-and-white art adds to the ambience of the time.”
From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “This easy chapter book, with simple sentences, plenty of white space, and a liberal sprinkling of Gordon's expressive black-and-white drawings, is an appealing and welcome title.”
CONNECTIONS
This website is a PDF file for a teacher-created set of activities for ABBY TAKES A STAND. Students will work on linking text to other information in the text and will work on making predictions.
http://www.horrycountyschools.net/Departments/Instruction/SocialStudies/confer ence/AbbyTakesaStandTemplate.pdf
Using the following website, students will study examine non-violent protest. Are there any situations in the world that require non-violent protest? Does non-violent protest work? Are there situations when it does not work?
SparkNotes: The Civil Rights Era (1865–1970): Nonviolent Protest: 1960–1963
198 Methods of Nonviolent Protest and Persuasion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance
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