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320th out of 411 books
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621 voters
Bone by Bone by Bone
FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN WHITE AND BLACK in 1950s Tennessee. Tony Johnston draws on her own childhood memories to limn a portrait of a sensitive and compassionate boy fighting for a friendship his father forbids.
David's daddy is determined that his son will grow up to be a doctor like himself. David studies the human bones, and secretly teaches them in turn to his black friend,...more
David's daddy is determined that his son will grow up to be a doctor like himself. David studies the human bones, and secretly teaches them in turn to his black friend,...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
August 7th 2007
by Roaring Brook Press
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"Bone by Bone by Bone" adresses the conflict between white and black people in the 1950's. David meets a nice black boy named Malcolm and they become two peas in a pod. Unfortunetly the ignorance of racism gets in the way. David does everything he can to get his father to accept Malcolm, but to no avail. The boys fear the Ku Klux Klan and are forced to exchange notes in code and hide when they wish to meet. Although many static characters in the book are victim to racism, not everyone is and the...more
Tony Johnston is the author of over 100 novels for children and young adults - this one was published in 2007 and tells the story of David and Malcolm's friendship, set in 1950s America and widely compared to Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird.
The beauty of this novel is the non-judgemental way that David and Malcolm see each other. David's Daddy - an intelligent, well-respected Doctor in the town will not tolerate their friendship - all he sees is the colour of Malcolm's skin. David just sees a...more
The beauty of this novel is the non-judgemental way that David and Malcolm see each other. David's Daddy - an intelligent, well-respected Doctor in the town will not tolerate their friendship - all he sees is the colour of Malcolm's skin. David just sees a...more
This story is about a kid, David Church, which one Halloween makes friends with someone, someone who had a darker colored skin. David doesn't realize the dangers of hanging out with him, until his dad prohibits him to enter his home, threatening to shoot him. David and his father have continuous fights over his new friend and end up in something worse than only a "fight". One of the author's techniques is that he describes things very deeply, even the most ordinary of things. He also uses techn...more
This was one of the best written books I have ever read in terms of writing style. It is just filled with some of the most creative writing that I have ever come across and made the story so enjoyable to read despite the dark period in our history that it depicts. "The holiday that arrives as softly as snow whitening the land, turning even ugly things beautiful." I was a little surprised by the end. I thought that David would go to the northern private school just to get away from his father eve...more
Jul 06, 2011
Ginger Stepp
added it
As David’s Uncle Lucas states, “Some men just need to keep ahead by keepin’ a foot on another’s neck”. Set in Tennessee in the 1950s, Johnston writes a classic tale of how children pay for the sins of their parents as David quickly realizes that his father may be a member of the Ku Klux Klan. David’s best friend is Malcolm, a young African-American boy. Malcolm is forbidden in David’s house and their friendship must be a secret one. However, David constantly butts head with his father over this...more
In Tennessee in the early 1950's, nine-year-old David suspects that his father, the town's well-respected physician, is a member of the KKK. Despite knowing his father's feelings towards "niggers," David's best friend, Malcom, is black. He knows he can never bring Malcom home because his father has threatened to shoot any black person who comes into the house. The two boys enjoy one another's company until David is picked to be on the neighborhood baseball team while Malcom, clearly the better p...more
i really wanted to read a book about segregation and and racism about back then so i choose this book.its about a man who grew up with a dream of being a doctor made for him already,he had no choice but was very excited about it.when he was young even though he understood the boundaries and how blacks were treated back then he had a black best freind they played and laughed and had the most fun together.but then found out and said that they could still be friends but if he was ever on his proper...more
A harsh little novel, wedged uncomfortably in the space between adult and young-adult fiction. While casting the horrors of Jim Crow racism in an eerie and garish light, the plot is thinly realized, as in the most mediocre of children's books. But the lurid parade of horrors makes this an odd pick for anyone who might be suited to its simplistic prose.
The characterization, fortunately, is somewhat more complex, if still heavyhanded. The nuance that Johnson brings to the racist "Daddy" propels m...more
The characterization, fortunately, is somewhat more complex, if still heavyhanded. The nuance that Johnson brings to the racist "Daddy" propels m...more
Bone by bone is aimed at the Young Adult market but deserves to be read more widely.
It is the story of an inter-racial friendship in Tennessee in the 1950's, when such a friendship had to be conducted in secret or not at all.
Racial intolerance is explored through the characters of the two nine year old boys, and a vivid picture of the horror of racism is portrayed for the reader.
Tony Johnson's language and writing style help to make palatable her subject matter, and kept me turning the pages ev...more
It is the story of an inter-racial friendship in Tennessee in the 1950's, when such a friendship had to be conducted in secret or not at all.
Racial intolerance is explored through the characters of the two nine year old boys, and a vivid picture of the horror of racism is portrayed for the reader.
Tony Johnson's language and writing style help to make palatable her subject matter, and kept me turning the pages ev...more
In this book, it is talking about these two boy living in Tennessee during the 1950s. Those two boys are David and Malcolm. They both are best friends. Then one day, David's dad notices they both are friends and David's dad is racist. David's dad tells David that if Malcolm enters the house i will kill him. David's Dad is doing this because Malcolm is black and David is white. Now their friendship is breaking because they both cannot hang out with each other.
I recommend this book to people who...more
I recommend this book to people who...more
Sort of like a weaker version of To Kill a Mockingbird, but with a jerky dad. Maybe like To Kill a Mockingbird bred with This Boy's Life. Some nice language and a worthwhile topic, but without the power that it could, with those attributes, have. I really couldn't say why, though. I know it lacked the quirky kidview of Scout and Jem. That might be part of it. Also, though set in the south, it was missing the feeling that great southern lit has that somehow the story was ladled up out of this cen...more
Racism, 1950s, Tennessee
This is a beautifully written, heartbreaking book. David Church is nine years old in 1951 and living with his father, grandmother and great-grandmother in a small Tennessee town. In many ways David lives an idyllic life filled with long, lazy days exploring the ponds and caves near his town. At his birth David’s father hung a complete human skeleton by his crib. David learns the names of all the bones and intends, as his father wishes, to become a doctor. There is a very...more
This is a beautifully written, heartbreaking book. David Church is nine years old in 1951 and living with his father, grandmother and great-grandmother in a small Tennessee town. In many ways David lives an idyllic life filled with long, lazy days exploring the ponds and caves near his town. At his birth David’s father hung a complete human skeleton by his crib. David learns the names of all the bones and intends, as his father wishes, to become a doctor. There is a very...more
Apr 28, 2011
Valerie Prier
added it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is a fictional coming of age story based on the author's childhood.
Set in the early 1950's in Tennessee, this is the story of David Church's struggle in understanding and inability to come to terms with the overt racism of his family and members of his community. David's best friend is Malcolm a free spirited Black boy. Dr. Church has warned David that if his friend sets foot in the house, he will be shot. It is an eye opening look at racism.
Set in the early 1950's in Tennessee, this is the story of David Church's struggle in understanding and inability to come to terms with the overt racism of his family and members of his community. David's best friend is Malcolm a free spirited Black boy. Dr. Church has warned David that if his friend sets foot in the house, he will be shot. It is an eye opening look at racism.
What a wonderful book. Set in the south during the 1950s, this book can definitely be compared to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Definitely written for young adults, it still packs punch with emotion. Ten year old David doesn't understand his father's extreme racism, and when David befriends a black boy, the tension between David and his father gets worse. The language is wonderfully southern.
A African American boy who name is Malcolm and a Caucasian by name of David who wants to be friend despite of their individual race struggles because of society rule of no color with the others. David's father decides that he would do anything to keep them apart. To what extreme would the father go... may even death. This book would be great to use with student to give them a nicer take on segregation.
David is living in the early 50's in Tennessee where his father who is a dr. still holds onto to a bad attitude towards the blacks living in the area. Even at David's age of 13, he feels bad and doesn't like his father for it. David's best friend is Malcolm, but he can't come into the house because of the "nigger" rule. Good/sad story about friends, family and doing the right thing.
This book was really good. It's about how in old days, white and black were not treated equally. In this book, it showed this main character thirteen years old becoming friends with a black negro kid about his age. Problem happened after that and how the main character's father dislike the negro's because of a racism. However at the end, this incredible thing happened that reader could not forget.
Stumbled upon this 2007 novel of "Mockingbird genre." My copy doesn't seem to be the final edition. Grim story of growing up with racism in Tennesee in the 50's - struggle of black and white firends to overcome deep-seated racism. Like TKMB a naive point of view, struggling to come to terms with violence, the KKK, a facism father/doctor. Short - designed as young adult.
Written by an author who grew up in the south with a racist father, this book is the story of a friendship between a white boy and a black boy in the 1950s south. Poignant, its lead characters reflect the confusion of not treating people equally. It is a bit tough to read, but the author apologizes at the beginning by letting the reader know some of what is in the book is language she heard growing up. Much more intense than To Kill a Mockingbird, but the same innocence prevails.
I'm really surprised I enjoyed reading this book. It was for english and I was like arghhhhh, I don't want to read this but its message, story line and characters were all well thought out especially cause it was inspired by true events from the authors life.
The end though, that was so sad. Why do books have to have sad endings? I mean, it was happy sad, I dunno it was just sad.
ALl in all it was a very enjoyable read which I enjoyed very much!
The end though, that was so sad. Why do books have to have sad endings? I mean, it was happy sad, I dunno it was just sad.
ALl in all it was a very enjoyable read which I enjoyed very much!
amazing poignant story of a young lad growing up in the Southern States in the 50s and trying to understand why he couldn't have Malcolm as a friend just because he is black. Very well written; convincing characters and an ending so thought-provoking and sad: guaranteed not to let the reader sleep for a while.
In the Lucifer Effect, the author argues that people can be good or evil depending on the social situation they find themselves in. This book certainly proves the case with the main character's father.
Poof! He's a simple country doctor, doing his best for those friends he grew up with as they lay dying. Poof! He's a good ol' Southern boy, getting drunk as a skunk at a local wedding and shooting up toasters. Poof! He's the good son who respects his grandma and loves his black mammy. Poof! He's a...more
Poof! He's a simple country doctor, doing his best for those friends he grew up with as they lay dying. Poof! He's a good ol' Southern boy, getting drunk as a skunk at a local wedding and shooting up toasters. Poof! He's the good son who respects his grandma and loves his black mammy. Poof! He's a...more
So far i am reading this book and it is starting off interesting. It is about why a white boy can not be friends with a black boy because that time there was segregation.Plus it was back then and it is old fashioned which i enjoy so i want to see how it ends off.
Even though this book depicts a very dark time in our country's history it was a page turner for me. The strength and power of friendship and love between two young boys one black and one white carried the story through to the inevitable sad and courageous ending.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
1960's South. Great read for anyone interested in this time period or exploring race relations in the South at this time. Main character is 10 year old boy that has developed a friendship that his father has forbidden. Recommended.
When David is born, his father hangs an actual human skeleton from his crib so he can begin learning the bones of the body. His father wants him to become a doctor just like him. David quickly begins to learn the bones, and his father. David doesn't like who is father is as a person. He doesn't want to shoot cats just for fun. He wants to be best friends with Malcolmm even though his dad forbids it. However, his father has promised that if Malcolm enters the house, he will shot him. And he does.
This is a powerful book about what it was like to be a kid growing up in the 1950's South with racism and Ku Klux Klan prevalent. 12-year-old David, sees it & lives with it since his father is incredibly racist. But David's good friend is Malcolm, who is smart and funny and black. David's father doesn't stop him from hanging out with David, but under no circumstances would he allow Malcolm to enter their house.
This rule manages to backfire and makes for a surprise if not inevitable ending....more
This rule manages to backfire and makes for a surprise if not inevitable ending....more
This was a really sad book that highlights how horrible racism was in the 1940's and 50's. a great example of how cruel history is. A good book that i would recommend to anyone.
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Tony Johnston has written many acclaimed books for young people. She and her husband lived in Mexico for fifteen years, where they raised their children. She now lives in San Marino, California.
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Aug 15, 2011 11:53am