Mildred Taylor
(1) Mildred Taylor, the author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1943. (2) Life for her family in the racially segregated South was often difficult. (3) When a series of racially-motivated acts of harm occurred in Jackson shortly after she was born, her father decided to seek a new life in Ohio, where he had friends and relatives. (4) He hoped his family would have opportunities there that were not presented in Mississippi. (5) He quickly found a job at a factory in Toledo, and two months later, he moved the rest of his family north. (6) In a short time, many members of Taylor’s extended family followed her family to Ohio. (7) She grew up surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins.
(8) Even though they now lived in the North, Taylor’s father never lost his love for the South and those in his family who still lived there. (9) Throughout Mildred’s childhood, he often took his wife and children to visit these relatives. (10) During these visits, Taylor learned about her family history through the stories her relatives told. (11) All of this was helpful later, of course.
(12) In the 1950s, Taylor attended Toledo schools that had recently been integrated. (13) At ten years old, she was the only black student in her class. (14) She was amazed how little her fellow students knew of black history. (15) When she shared her knowledge of history with the class, the white students and teacher thought she was making up stories. (16) Despite the fact that she lived in the North, she was continued evidence of racism. (17) When a black student was elected homecoming queen at her high school, many white students reacted with anger and violence.
(18) Taylor graduated from high school in 1961 and attended the University of Toledo. (19) It was here she began to write. (20) Her first novel told the story of a blind man living in Chicago’s black ghetto. (21) It was never published, but one publisher encouraged her to keep writing. (22) After graduating with a degree in education, she joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Ethiopia. (23) When she returned to the United States, she enrolled at the University of Colorado, where she earned a Master’s degree in journalism. (24) She returned briefly to Ethiopia, then moved to Los Angeles. (25) Here, she worked a number of temporary jobs, but her main interest was writing. (26) Taylor’s big break came when she won a contest sponsored by the Council on Interracial Books for children. (27) She had originally planned to tell her story from her grandmother’s point of view, but the story was much more successful when told by eight-year-old Cassie Logan.
(28) Taylor’s second novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, is also told from her perspective. (29) It was published in 1976 and was praised by both readers and critics. (30) Taylor dedicated the book to her father, who serves as the model for the characters Stacey and David. (32) A miniseries based on the novel aired in 1978.
(33) Taylor acknowledges the influence of the family stories she heard while she was growing up. (34) These stories revealed pride, tragedy, triumph, and clearly inspired her. (35) “Much of the stories told were humorous,” she says, “and some were tragic, but they all told of a dignity of a people living in a society that allowed them few rights as citizens and treated them as inferiors. (36) Much history was in those stories, and I never tired of hearing them.”
Now you try some:
Question #2: Luis needs more support for the idea he is presenting in the fourth paragraph (sentences 18-27). Which sentence could BEST follow sentence 26 and help develop the main idea of the paragraph?
Answer: A. This was only one of the many awards Taylor would win as her career progressed.
B. Her novel, Song of the Trees, was based on a family story about trees cut down.
C. Although awards are nice, I am sure Taylor would continue to write wonderful stories even if they did not exist.
D. An author’s first big award often remains the one that is most special to him or her, even if the author wins more prestigious awards later.
Explanation:
Question #3: Luis wants to add an additional detail after sentence 29 to better follow and support the idea he presented. Which of the following best follows and supports sentence 29?
Answer: A. It was awarded the Newbery Award for excellence in books written for children.
B. It seems like everyone loves Roll of Thunder.
C. Her other books were popular, but none of them won awards like this.
D. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry is thought to be so great because it's from
