Young Mason Steele takes pride in turning his father’s excited ramblings about the latest civil rights incidents into handwritten business letters. One day Pa comes home with a gift from his civil rights group: a typewriter. Thrilled with the present, Mason spends all his spare time teaching himself to type. Soon he knows where every letter on the keyboard is located. When the civil rights group wins a school desegregation case, Mason learns that now he will be attending a formerly all-white high school. Despite his fears and injustice from the students and faculty, Mason perseveres. He does well in school—especially in his typing class. And when he competes in the county typing tournament, Mason decides to take a stand, using his skills to triumph over prejudice and break racial barriers.
- Written by: Pamela M. Tuck
- Illustrated by: Eric Velasquez
- Published by: Lee & Low Books Inc.
- Read by: Dulé Hill
- Suggested level: LKS2
- Run time: 16 minutes
I hope you enjoy your storytime. The book begins with the sentence “Trouble was brewing in Greenville, North Carolina.” To what kind of trouble is the sentence referring?
Who was Golden Frinks, and how did he help Mason get back his job at the
library?
What words would you use to describe Mason? What words would you use to describe his father?
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