Overview

School Belongs to Me is the winner of the 2022 Bookfest award for children's multicultural books. It brings African American education heritage to light through a story of how, during the segregation era, African American families sacrificed to build schools for their children. The book follows Tommy, who travels from New Jersey to visit his grandmother in North Carolina. She takes him to visit the historic Rosenwald school she attended as a child, and where she and others in the community are preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the school their family helped to build. At the same time, Tommy is proud to share a surprise with her from his school. Written by Claudia Stack whose award-winning documentaries focus on African American sharecropping.

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9781954529168

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An engaging, informative, multigenerational tale underscoring the legacy of the Rosenwald School program. - *Kirkus Reviews* An African American boy learns about the Canetuck Rosenwald School in this picture book. On the way to visit Grandma in North Carolina, Tommy's Dad explains that when the woman was young, she had to sit in the segregated train car, and it was hard for her to find a place to eat. Tommy learns more about Grandma's experiences when she takes him to a community center that used to be her school. Tommy asks about the photographs of Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald on the wall. His Aunt Lee, who also attended the school, explains: Booker T. Washington had an idea to help our communities build schools. He knew our families would give money...but they needed some help, and he sought financial assistance from his friend Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears. When Tommy shares a medal he received at school for reading 100 books, Lee says: Your great-great-grandparents would be proud. The characters' recollections of attending a Rosenwald School offer engaging, firsthand insights into the segregation-era building program that helped make schools more available for African American students. Stack's story will encourage readers to learn more about this important historical project. Bryant's lively, realistic, full-color, digital illustrations incorporate the present and past. For example, when Grandma's schoolmate Mr. Frank tells Tommy how families hosted fundraising events for the school, the background features a sepia-toned scene of kids against a Canetuck Spelling Bee 1955 banner. An engaging, informative, multigenerational tale underscoring the legacy of the Rosenwald School program.

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