Freedom Summer is a great book to use with lower grades, such as kindergarten thru second. I always consider it a treasure to find rich multicultural literature for our younger students. It is so hard for younger students to realize what the world was once like. The wonderful thing about children is that everyone is equal, stereotypes and judgments have not been made yet. It is important as a teacher to help students keep this open mind. Our country is full of different cultures and people, we can learn so much from these cultures if we just open our hearts and minds.
Freedom Summer introduces children to a once segregated world, a world where black and white people were not allowed the same rights. John Henry was a black boy but also the best friend to a white boy. As the book unfolds we see the boys love the same activities, the same foods, and jokes. This is a perfect opportunity to ask students, are these two boys different? Students will probably answer only their skin color. At this point in the books students are introduced to the type of realistic fiction this book offers, living in a diverse world, which addresses racial and ethnic diversity (Chapter 6 Realistic and Historical Fiction).
Students dig deeper into this story to find that John Henry has a wish, a wish to be able to share the same experiences as his friend. It is so easy for the white boy to tell John Henry that he did not want to swim in the public pool, but together with Deborah Wiles words and Lerome Lagarrigue’s paintings we see the pain and hurt that John Henry carries when he says, but I wanted to. Young children can start to understand that things that were as simple as going to the pool, running by the store, or eating out, where not so easy for all people in days of segregation. Even when the laws of segregation were lifted and black people had the right to do and use the same things that white people used, the hate was still there.
The underlying theme of love is truly spoken as the boys walk into the old store together. John Henry has his nickel in hand to buy his first ice pop, one that he himself gets to pick out. Love and equality is what I want my students to take from this book!
Destinysizemore's Blog 
Yes and Yes!!! And, being brave enough to do the right thing…right? 🙂 Did you read what Deborah wrote about the illustrations in Freedom Summer…it’s just beautiful! Her words, “You asked about the artistic decisions in FREEDOM SUMMER. I made no decisions. I was asked for input on illustrators, and I offered some suggestions, but when Jerome Lagarrigue walked through Simon & Schuster’s door with his portfolio, Anne Schwartz knew he was the one, and she was right. FS was Jerome’s 2nd book, and he made all the artistic choices, including the decision to use acrylic paint and to paint the pictures as if they were part of a movie — you’ll see how he opens with a large frame and pulls back and then opens again in key scenes, and gives us a close-up of John Henry’s face, pulls back, and then shows the small frame in the end — all his choosing. He did a fantastic job, and elevated the text. When I saw the art for the first time, I cried.” I went back and viewed the illustrations again, and it does look like a movie…try it!
Wonderful critique Destiny. As you said, It is so important to have open hearts and minds. We can model this for our children and help them notice the beauty in differences by using great literature like Freedom Summer.