Abby Takes A Stand (Scraps of Time #1) by Patricia C. McKissack

Abby Takes A Stand (Scraps of Time #1) Reviews

• 
  Lauran Ferguson

  I actually enjoyed reading this book, it was a very refreshing story line about a 10 year old girl named Abby. The author does a great job of showcasing the 1960's so that a younger reader could picture exactly how things were back then. I believe that this book includes a lot of opportunities to learn about the 1960's and the civil rights movement. Although this book is fictional, it might be a good book to read during black history month to commemorate the actions of the nations African-American leaders and protesters.
• 
  Stephanie ((Strazzybooks))

  “[My cousin] wanted to change things, and that meant he had to go into scary water.”
  
  I loved this book. It's the first in the series, and the premise is that kids are in their grandma’s attic, discovering history and their Black family’s past.
  
  In Abby Takes a Stand, Abby and her community take part in the 1960’s sit-ins in Nashville.
  It was engaging, informative, and important. It acknowledges the fear and determination that went into the protests.
  
  Recommended for all students, and I look forward to reading the other three in the series.
• 
  Jessica

  This was a decent kid-friendly explanation of the troubling times in the 60s. The illustrations were interesting and provided some visuals for students who struggle imagining. The vocabulary was very simple.
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  Lee Ann

  Inspiring! This is a short and sweet introduction to the topic of sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement. Abby is a great protagonist, and I loved how she was able to help with the movement in small but mighty ways. Her mother was also fantastic. I also appreciated how it tackled the issue of defeatism in John's parents, who were so beaten down by years and years of racism that they didn't see the point in protesting. Reading the book as an adult (evaluating it for "maturity level" for some work), I didn't expect to feel very emotionally involved in the characters--after all, it's such a short book! But McKissack does a great job creating extremely sympathetic characters in such a small number of pages. 4/5 stars.
• 
  Maura

  My 2nd grade son requested this short historical fiction chapter book after reading and loving The Home Run King, the fourth and final book in this Scraps of Time series. We both enjoyed this book (though not quite as much as The Home Run King, which included a genuine Negro League baseball celebrity as a character). Ideal for a 1st-4th grade audience, Abby Takes a Stand would be a useful introduction to nonviolent protests during the Civil Rights movement from a child's perspective.
• 
  Kristina

  This is a fabulous book for younger readers that leads to discussions about the civil rights movements. The events described really help the reader feel like they are there with the Abby. I love the details included and especially how it is written with a younger audience in mind. I have used this book with 3rd grade literature circles and they loved it as well. It couples very well with news clips from the time period. Highly recommend!
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  Laura

  I read this book because my 9 yr old was reading it for a school project. It was an excellent and educational story. I thought the reading was a little easy for a 4th grader, but enjoyable nonetheless.
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  Melanie Storie

  I’m reading this book with a group of children at my school and I think it is a great introduction to the Civil Rights Movement from a child’s perspective. This book focuses on the sit-ins in Nashville and the non-violent protest philosophy of the movement. Wonderful.
• 
  Angie

  My students really liked it. I thought it was written very well for elementary students. It had a very interesting story line that tied into the Civil Rights time.
• 
  Season Johnson

  Enjoyed this short book very much!
• 
  mars (Ty’s Version)

  I went to a cabin and picked this up to randomly read and the person who owns the book said this was her book club book, and so now I’m in a book club ig
• 
  Mrs.

  This was a great book that talks about the historical event during the Civil Rights Movement.
• 
  Melanie Johnson

  In 1960 Negroes were able to sit anywhere on the bus but they was not accepted in certain places. So one Abby was handed a flyer for a carousel ride and she could get on because of her skin color. She told her mother what happen and her mother told her cousin. He told her that there will be a meeting at First Baptist Church to plan a protest. At the meeting John had mention about a sit-in that happen in Greensboro, North Carolina at Woolworth's lunch counter and they should have one in Nashville, Tennessee. Everyone agree and the protest started the next day. They would sit there until the restaurant closed and no one would serve them because of their skin color. In April, Mr.Lobby who is a lawyer house had explode with dynamite that a crowd of students marched to City Hall to see the mayor, Ben West. As Abby And her mother was watching television they heard a girl asked the mayor, "Mr.Mayor do you think it's fair that the restaurants won't serve people just because of the color of their skin?" He looked at the faces in the crowd and he said "No, I don't". Everyone was happy that their hard work paid off because they won and now that were able to go to the restaurant and be served. Abby and her mother went downtown the next day to eat it the restaurant and when they went back home her mother gave her a copy of the Monkey Bar menu and told her " I want you to keep this. A lot of people- you included- worked very hard and sacrificed to make it possible. Don't you ever forget that." Abby said " Okay" and kept it as a scrap of time.
  It is an excellant book because it allow kid to read what the blacks have to do in order to be treated fairly even though some of the rules was lifted.
• 
  Christine

  I read this to facilitate a Grade 3/4 book group at my daughter’s school. The book, Scraps of Time, 1960: Abby Takes a Stand by Patricia C. McKissack, is a quick, succinct read depicting, from a 10-year-old girl’s perspective, many important issues of the Civil Rights movement in Nashville. I assumed the exact characters were fictional, but the mention of Z. Alexander Looby on p. 82 was certainly too specific not to be true. It always interests me to learn more about important but not widely known people.
  
  The students were completely absorbed with the drama of the unfairness and the bravery of standing up for yourself, politely. I was surprised they didn't mention Chapter 1 at all, and had little to say about the BFF Patsy, although she does serve the purpose of painting a 10-year-old who is just like the reader. We were also able to look at the common literary technique of a story-within-a-story.
  
  The rules for the nonviolent sit-ins appear at the back of the book.
  
  This review is from a 1/15/09 entry at my blog runspot.wordpress.com
  Related posts:
  First Black Woman Doctor
  Black History Month
  African American Portraits
  Juneteenth
  
• 
  Linda Lipko

  Another in the Scraps of Time series written for young adults as an introduction to a history lesson. The time frame is 1928. Abby and her mother are free to visit the "colored stores", but they cannot sit at the luncheon counter of those stores. They must stand in the back, while the white people are given service.
  
  The author tells a tale of Abby who frequently accompanied her mother to Harvey's store. When she tried to have service at the restaurant of the store that had a children-friendly theme, she was scorned and made to feel like dirt.
  
  Soon, she and her mother joined her cousin in attending rallies advocating sit ins. The book depicts a time in history when blacks stood for their rights by sitting down at luncheon counters.
  
  While the book seemed trite and not well written, hopefully it opens the door for young adults to learn more about civil rights.
  
• 
  Shante

  I came across this book while looking at my many books that were on my shelf. After reading this I fully enjoyed reading this and cannot wait to share it with my 3rd graders. This book is historical fiction and provides a child's account to what was happening in the 1960s. This book gives an outlook not only on the positive but the negative in a child friendly way. It also gives an outlook on how young children gave a hand in those times. I would recommend this for the elementary level and can be read at any time during the school year.
• 
  Nancy

  I grew up in Nashville and was 9 years old at the time of this story. I remember the time well because we couldn't go downtown to shop because of the sit-in's. It was considered too dangerous. This is a good account of the times for 3rd and 4th graders. My students will relate since we live only an hour from Nashville. The places are real, and I can be their primary source interview! At least from the point of view of the white child who didn't go downtown!
• 
  Jaeri Ayarez

  The story was nice. I like the way how black americans fight for their freedom and rights. It is in a peaceful way and still respecting the white ones. But it was the white ones who's making it worse which I don't really understand.
  
  I was also expecting something from the monkey guy. I thought he's the one who would help the black ones. But I was wrong.
  
  The story was short yet nice ^^