SLIS 5420 Module 10 - Historical Fiction

Glory Be

By Augusta Scattergood

Bibliography

Scattergood, A. (2012). Glory be. New York: Scholastic Press.

Summary

Gloriana is an 11 year-old young girl growing up in a small town in Mississippi during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.  The public pool in her town has closed due to “repairs” when, in reality, the town’s leaders have closed it so that Blacks won’t swim in it.  She befriends a Yankee girl, who has moved with her mother, a nurse, who has come to work in the Freedom Clinic for poor Black people. This causes problems between Glory and her best friend, Frankie, who idolizes his brother and does everything he says.  Glory begins to notice the injustices towards her long-time housekeeper, Emma, and decides to stand up for what she feels is wrong. 

Reviews

Glory Be. (2011). Publishers Weekly, 258(43), 53-54.

The hot summer of 1964 in Hanging Moss, Miss., is the setting for Scattergood's modest debut, featuring high-spirited Glory, who is looking forward to celebrating her 12th birthday on the Fourth of July with her traditional party at the town pool. But the civil rights movement is sprouting throughout the South, and a group of Freedom Workers has arrived in Hanging Moss, causing consternation among many townspeople and resulting in actions that dismay Glory--like the closing of the segregated pool. Scattergood divides the characters a little too neatly into the good guys (Glory's preacher father and her sister, Jesslyn; their loyal housekeeper, Emma; and the town librarian) and the bad guys (the high school football star; his town councilman father; and prejudiced busybody Mrs. Simpson), but she aptly portrays Glory's emotional confusion as she struggles to understand and cope with the turmoil. Also well done is the changing relationship between Glory and Jesslyn, as well as her roller-coaster friendship with her best buddy, Frankie. Scattergood's effective snapshot of the fight against segregation, one town at a time, makes personal the tumultuous atmosphere of the times. Ages 9-12. (Jan.)

Larson, G. (2012, Feb). Glory Be. School Library Journal, 58(2), 134. 

Gr 5–8--Spunky, engaging Gloriana Hemphill, 11, describes the "freedom summer" of 1964 in Hanging Moss, MS, where winds of social change are beginning to upset the status quo. In a series of eye-opening adventures, Glory learns that her sheltered life as a preacher's kid has overshadowed her awareness of injustice and intolerance in her town. When the segregated community pool is closed indefinitely, her predictable world is upended. A new girl arrives from Ohio with her mother, a nurse who will be running a Freedom Clinic for poor black people. Big sister Jesslyn's new boyfriend reveals that he was once jailed in North Carolina for sitting with a "colored friend" at a white lunch counter. Meanwhile, best friend Frankie spouts dislike of Yankees and Negroes but is clearly manipulated by a racist father and an abusive older brother. Although Glory's ingenuous, impulsive behavior often gets her in trouble at home and in the community, she learns the importance of compassion, discretion, and self-awareness. A cast of supportive adults helps her mature: her patient, widowed father; her beloved African American housekeeper; and the open-minded local librarian. This coming-of-age story offers a fresh, youthful perspective on a pivotal civil rights period. Historical references to Attorney General Robert Kennedy's visit, the influx of civil rights workers, and Elvis vs. The Beatles popularity are included. But the richness of this story lies in the Mississippi milieu, the feisty naïveté of the protagonist, and the unveiling of the complexities of human nature. Glory is an appealing, authentic character whose unflinching convictions, missteps, and reflections will captivate readers.

My thoughts

This read a lot like To Kill a Mockingbird.  An innocent strong-willed Southern young girl narrates life in a backward time and place during the 1950s in Mississippi.

How it could be used in the library

Glory Be could be paired with a non-fiction selection about Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights movement.