This story is about two boys who are a lot alike, but one difference separates them apart from one another. They both love shooting marbles. They both want to be firemen and they both are swimmers. The difference that separates them is that Joe is white and John Henry is black. Today we wouldn’t see this as a big boundary or difference, but in the South in 1964, that means John Henry isn't allowed to do everything his best friend is. They spend their summers laughing and playing together, but they can’t go to places in public together though because they aren’t the same race. The two boys want to swim in the public pool together, but when they get there they can’t because it is being filled in. The boys decide they are tired of not being able to do things together so they go into a corner store to get ice pops together. A law is passed that forbids segregation. The boys are excited, but it takes more than a new law to change people's hearts.
Interest Level:k-2
Grade Level Equivalent:3.2
Reviewer: Jessica Rago