The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA

February 1, 2019

Gr 4-6-Twelve-year-old Gabriel, who is white, lives in the small, South Carolina town of Birdsong in 1946. His eyes are slowly opened to the realities of Jim Crow through his relationship with Merriweather Hunter, an African American who saves Gabriel's life when he is almost hit by a car. As their friendship deepens and Mr. Hunter and his daughter, Abigail, begin to trust Gabriel, he begins to see some of the oppressive truths of their existence: the need for the Green Book, the danger from white supremacists, the lack of support from the police when they are the victims of crimes, and the need for Mr. Hunter to keep his identity as a World War II veteran secret. When Mr. Hunter and Abigail are targeted by a white supremacist, Gabriel witnesses the fear, pain, anger, and sense of powerlessness faced by African Americans living under Jim Crow. This title presents the reality of racism in the mid-20th century, as seen through the perspective of a young white boy. VERDICT Hand to readers looking for historical fiction or those who enjoy the works of Christopher Paul Curtis and Rita Williams Garcia.-Kristin Lee Anderson, Jackson County Library Services, OR

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2019
Grades 5-8 Gabriel Haberlin, 12, lives a kid-friendly life in post-WWII Birdsong, South Carolina, even getting a Schwinn for his birthday. But on his first ride, he's almost hit by a car. Fortunately, Meriwether Hunter pushes him out of the way. A friendship between the African American vet and Gabriel results in Hunter getting a job at the Haberlin gas station, but another employee, a rumored Klan member, starts looking to make trouble. There are many books that show segregation and its corrosive effects through the eyes of both white and black children, and in Gabriel's engaging first-person narrative, one can almost see the wheels turning as he realizes what life is like for Hunter and his family, especially after he learns the vet can't speak of his distinguished service due to white attitudes. The characters aren't always nuanced, but there is shading in actions as they try to uncomfortably fit into their society's mores. Gabriel's strong and questioning voice will have appeal for middle-graders, and the story will give them a history lesson as well.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

Starred review from December 1, 2018
If Opie Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show wrote a book about Mayberry's racism, the voice would be that of Gabriel Haberlin, the 12-year-old white boy who is saved from near tragedy by Meriwether Hunter, a "colored" man.The book opens with the event, when Meriwether, who's begging for a job on Main Street, sees Gabriel pedal through a red light and pushes him out of the way of an oncoming car. The author's use of the word "colored" isn't gratuitous--the book's setting is Birdsong, South Carolina, in 1946. The word also sets the tone of the town's postwar racial references and bigotry, along with The Negro Motorist Green Book, segregated bathrooms, and the way Mrs. Betty Babcock, the white woman who nearly kills Gabriel, addresses Meriwether as "boy." But Gabriel says his parents "taught me differently"--and seeks out Meriwether to offer him a job at his father's garage out of gratitude. After meeting Gabriel's grateful parents, Meriwether accepts the offer--to the spitting contempt of Lucas Shaw, the other mechanic, who's white and rumored to have friends in the Ku Klux Klan. The town's multitudinous racism keeps Meriwether from admitting where he honed his mechanical skills, lest that fact harm him and his family: the Army, where he was a member of the 761st Tank Battalion, also called the Black Panthers. How that fact affects Gabriel and Meriwether's friendship and Birdsong itself makes for an affecting--and realistic--story.Another stellar outing from the always-solid Woods. (afterword, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 8-12)

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