My Mother the Cheerleader

Book excerpt: Share this "harrowing and painfully honest historical novel"* at home or in the classroom. Through this "extraordinary" debut effort from the Sydney Taylor Award winner Robert Sharenow, readers will explore how "ingrained prejudices—whether acted upon or not—help destroy lives and shatter a community."** In 1960 New Orleans, thirteen-year-old Louise is pulled out of class by her mother to protest court-ordered integration of her school. Louise’s mother is one of the jeering “Cheerleaders.” Each morning the Cheerleaders gather at the school to harass the school's first black student, six-year-old Ruby Bridges, as she enters the building. After a mysterious man from New York named Morgan arrives in town and takes up residence in the family's crumbling boarding house, Louise's acceptance of "the way things are" begins to crumble. Through conversations with Morgan and firsthand observations, Louise begins to wonder about the morality of the Cheerleaders’ activities—and everything Louise thinks she knows about her mother, her world, and herself will change. In a starred review, Booklist commented: "Readers will be held fast by the history told from the inside as adult Louise remembers the vicious role of ordinary people." *School Library Journal (starred review) ; **Chicago Tribune