With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954

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With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954 (Dear America)

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 152 ratings · 32 reviews

Coretta Scott King winner Andrea Davis Pinkney brings her talents to a brand-new Dear America diary about the Civil Rights Movement.

In the fall of 1955, twelve-year-old Dawn Rae Johnson's life turns upside down. After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Dawnie learns she will be attending a previously all-white school. She's the only one of her friends

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Hardcover, 336 pages

Published September 1st 2011 by Scholastic Inc.

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Jan 13, 2013 Sana Maria Soufi rated it 4 of 5 stars

With The Might of Angels
Non Fiction
336 Pages
Finished on 12/15/12

This true story is about the young, bright, African American girl, Dawnie Rae Johnson. Her friends and "special" brother, Goober make up most of her life. Segregation rules her life. Dawnie is skilled enough to attend Prettyman Elementary, the best all white school in her town. Not everyone is thrilled that Dawnie is attending Prettyman. People jeer at her and make fun of her. Dawnie keeps her head up and stays and excels at Prettym...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Rochetta G rated it 5 of 5 stars

What inspiration! This book was a breath of fresh air. This book begins one month before the Supreme Court ruling in the case of brown vs. the Board of Education. Dawnie Rae Johnson was twelve year old at the time. She learns she will be the only black attending an all-white school. She lived with two hard working parents; her mother had her own business of which she did laundry for town’s people. She had formulated her own pressing starch. Her father worked for the local dairy store until they...more What inspiration! This book was a breath of fresh air. This book begins one month before the Supreme Court ruling in the case of brown vs. the Board of Education. Dawnie Rae Johnson was twelve year old at the time. She learns she will be the only black attending an all-white school. She lived with two hard working parents; her mother had her own business of which she did laundry for town’s people. She had formulated her own pressing starch. Her father worked for the local dairy store until they found out it was his daughter that was attending an all-white school. From what the story tells, her brother had autism. They described him as being in his own beautiful world. Dawnie is a fun loving girl who loves baseball. Her idol Jackie Robinson. Although Dawnie is excited about the new school she experiences what she calls the anxiety monster. As with most historical fiction stories during that time, she experienced being mistreated (racism) by not only the students and teachers at her new school, but also those who known all her life to be her friends. Her family did received help for the NAACP and the local church. They even welcomed Dr. Martin Luther King to their church and he helped form a boycott of the local dairy store that was not in support of lifting segregation. To me this story was about an intelligent girl who shown nothing but bravery and determination. Despite the odds she pressed forward to show all the non-believers that she was just a worthy as other children to receive a meaningful education. The story was told through mainly diary entries and letters to certain people. In such difficult times, Dawnie found a way to channel her mixed emotions through writing. In the end, success she was an honor roll student and the bravery she showed paved the way for other just like her. The book was short novel book and therefore had o artistic elements. This book is recommended for intermediate readers due to its mature, relatable content. (less)

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Sep 02, 2011 Margo Tanenbaum rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1950-s, african-american, civil-rights

The newest in Scholastic's relaunch of its beloved Dear America series, this book by award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney tells the story of Dawnie Rae Johnson, a fictional twelve-year old Virginia girl who's the first to desegregate an all white school in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education.

Dawnie tells us she's always been blessed with the gift of gab, so a diary is a perfect birthday gift, especially prized since it was made by her little brother, Goober. It seems her dream is comi...more The newest in Scholastic's relaunch of its beloved Dear America series, this book by award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney tells the story of Dawnie Rae Johnson, a fictional twelve-year old Virginia girl who's the first to desegregate an all white school in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education.

Dawnie tells us she's always been blessed with the gift of gab, so a diary is a perfect birthday gift, especially prized since it was made by her little brother, Goober. It seems her dream is coming true when she finds out she's going to attend Prettyman Colburn, Hadley's white school, instead of the "colored" school, Bethune, where everything is broken, from the books to the toilets to the clocks. Dawnie's especially bright, and dreams of becoming a doctor one day, although she's never seen a colored doctor or nurse either. After passing an especially difficult test with flying colors, she's one of the students tapped by the NAACP to start the school integration process in their town.

Dawnie will need every bit of her courage and resolve, as she is confronted by demonstrations, small children spitting at her, adults calling her names, and police escorts needed just to get her into the school building. No one will talk to her, and she spends the first day in the principal's office. Dawnie writes in her diary, "By most counts, I'm a normal girl. But with the way those kids were staring at me today, you'da thought I was a bearded lady at the Lee County Carnival." But that's not her only problem, as her daddy loses her job when locals don't want to support a business that employs someone whose daughter is desegregating their schools. About the only people nice to her at school are the colored custodian and the lunch ladies, and Gertie Feldman, a Jewish student at the school. Will Dawnie be able to triumph in this hostile environment?

While both Andrea Davis Pinkney's heroine and the setting of Hadley, Virginia, are fictional, the narrative was inspired by several different integration stories, including one involving the author's own cousin. Pinkney herself was the only black student at her very first grade school, although her experience was not as harsh as Dawnie's. Pinkney incorporates many real historical events into her story, including the Montgomery bus protest of Claudette Colvin, the debut of Sports Illustrated magazine, and Jackie Robinson's integration of baseball. Dawnie Rae's distinctive and colorful voice and personality help bring this important period in our history to life for young people today. It's a must for school and public libraries, as well as all fans of the Dear America series.

Like the other Dear America volumes, back matter includes a historical note on American in 1954, as well as brief biographies of real people mentioned in Dawnie Rae's diary, a Civil Rights timeline, and an "about the author" note describing her background and her research on this topic.

Pinkney remarks in the author's note: "I wrote this book to remind young readers of the great privilege they enjoy--that of attending any school they wish, with classmates of all races--and to show them that even in the harshest situations, hope can shine through the darkest days." (less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Alunafowler rated it 5 of 5 stars

This Corretta Scott award winning historical fiction novel is about a black girl name Dawnie Rae Johnson. Her life is told as she lived through the era of segregation. After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Dawnie learns she will be attending a previously all-white school. She's the only one of her friends to go to this new school and to leave the comfort of all that is familiar to face great uncertainty in the school year ahead. She and her family went through hard times...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Ellen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've always liked the Dear America series. A first-person perspective with all the detail of a biography, the writers manage to give us enough plot and dialog to keep it from being bogged down in "Dear Diary... today I..." language that typically fills diaries and bores me to tears. With the Might of Angels is a powerful account of civil rights and school integration, jam-packed with real-life emotion and actual historical figures. I think young readers will be especially touched by this noveliz...more

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Annette I enjoyed the American Girl series. What age do you think these would appeal to? Do you think they appeal to boys and girls? I agree that reading diar...more
Jan 28, 2012 06:22am

Ellen Although I think the stories are great for both genders, Dear America is all girls, and few of my male students tried them for obvious reasons. There...more
Jan 28, 2012 07:05am

Ellen Good news though, there is an offshoot of Dear America that is all boys! They are written a bit easier too, and some of my history-minded male student...more
Jan 28, 2012 07:14am

Apr 14, 2013 Kimberly Tardy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile

I really enjoyed getting to know Dawnie and her passion for playing baseball and bouncing on her pogo stick. It sends a great message to kids that although life can be tough -- it's possible to get through the rough parts with the love of family, friends and faith in yourself. I really liked how the author worked in elements like the dairy boycott and showed how the black community effected real change by sticking to their principles. Dawnie's friend Gertie was an unexpected treat and gave the n...more

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May 26, 2012 Marcia rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Grades 3 and up

Shelves: audiobook, historical-fiction, grades-4-6, grades-2-4

This book reminded me how good the Dear America series is. Like others in that series, this one is written by a top-notch author, and is a factionalized biography introducing issues of the day. Dawnie Rae Johnston is the first black girl to integrate her school. The racial tensions of the time become part of this 7th grader's daily life, as she tries to make friends and do well in school. She loves baseball and is a fan of Jackie Robinson.Her patience is tested by younger brother Goober, who we...more

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May 17, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, diaries, arc, 2011-ya-hist-fic-challenge

Dawnie Rae Johnston begins her diary on her twelth birthday in 1954, the day after the Supreme Court decision ending segregation in schools. Dawnie is one of the top students in her grade at her segregated school, but she wishes she could go to the white school in town, which is a much nicer building, with new books and supplies and even a baseball field. When Dawnie's parents decide to enroll her at the white school for the following school year, she is excited to be attending such a nice schoo...more Dawnie Rae Johnston begins her diary on her twelth birthday in 1954, the day after the Supreme Court decision ending segregation in schools. Dawnie is one of the top students in her grade at her segregated school, but she wishes she could go to the white school in town, which is a much nicer building, with new books and supplies and even a baseball field. When Dawnie's parents decide to enroll her at the white school for the following school year, she is excited to be attending such a nice school. But many people in Hadley are racist, and her family suffers as a result. Her father loses his job, and many of the teachers and students are cruel to her.

This was a difficult book for me to rate and review, because it was well-written and well-researched, but not to my personal tastes. I always feel bad trying to decide how to review a book when it's well-written but I just didn't enjoy it. And since the Dear America series is one of my favorite series, I had really hoped to enjoy this book, but it's a bad sign when it takes me over two weeks to finish a Dear America book. I would probably give it two stars for my personal enjoyment, but I added a third star for the excellent historical research.

I think there were two main reasons why I didn't enjoy it very much. One, I couldn't relate to the main character at all. She was a tomboy who was obsessed with sports and loved baseball. I am the least athletic person on the planet, gym class was torture for me, and I just got bored and annoyed whenever she would write about sports or use some kind of sport-y metaphor (Which was really often). Two, after reading this book and a couple others, I've come to the conclusion I just don't like historical fiction set after World War II. It just seems too modern to me. If you are interested in the Civil Rights Movement or 1950s history in general, and this book sounds like something you would enjoy, don't let my review put you off reading it. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, and like I said it's well-written, it just didn't interest me.(less)

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Nov 10, 2011 Ellie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to this on audio. This was great - I'd never read one of the books in this series on audio and it was lovely! Andrea Davis Pinkney does a fantastic job portraying the life of a brave girl integrating an all-white school in Virginia in 1954. Dawnie's voice is pure and honest and the narrator did a great job. One of my favorite parts about the Dear America books is their extensive historical note at the end, after the Epilogue, however the audiobook did not contain this, which upset me....more

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Dec 18, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: max-reads, mya-reads

Dec 2012 - It's rare that a book like this would keep me up at night, but it did. As far as the Dear America series goes, this is probably the best I've read. I appreciated the authors thoughtful, age-appropriate treatment of a difficult period of American history. Definitely putting this on a couple students' reading lists

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Feb 02, 2012 Connie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-books

Dawnie Rae Johnson wants to grow up to be a doctor. As a young black girl growing up in the south in the 1950's, her dream seemed to be out of reach.

Memorable line "...dirt from sliiiiiiding into home base tastes sweeter than brown sugar."

Heat, baseball, church, school, friends, Dawnie's life felt very familiar.

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Mar 24, 2012 Joshua rated it 4 of 5 stars

I didn't like how Goober was shoehorned in, but despite the tried and true format of a Dear America diary, I really liked this book... It was a hard read at times but it was a hard subject...

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Nov 01, 2011 Sandybear76 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile-fiction

Interesting to read about integration in the South through the eyes of an African-American young girl attending an all-white school in the 1960's. She was a brave girl but her family became brave too.

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Apr 30, 2013 Cinnapatty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-icca

I loved this book. A great historic fiction regarding segregation and integration. This is written as a diary from the view point of a 7th grade black girl who is chosen to integrate an all white school. It makes me sick to my stomach sometimes to read history and the awful things the human race puts one another through. Even modern day times are full of injustices and cruelties. What a place it would be if we all treated each other as the children of God that we are.

I love Dawnie's character. I...more

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May 08, 2012 Marymary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Andrea Davis Pinkney created a great work in the historical novel. I loved her end notes about her Dad keeping newspaper clippings and how she was able to use that as research.

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May 05, 2012 Shelley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I started out reading this with my girls, but then they had their school books to read so we had to stop. I was hooked and decided to read it on my own. I really enjoyed it!

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Apr 27, 2013 Librarianforhim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bullying, father-daughter-relationships, friendships, historical-fiction, children-s-reads, mother-daughter-relationships, racism-issues, read-in-2013, set-in-america, set-in-south, united-states-history

Plot: Sixth grader Dawnie Rae Johnson is chosen to be one of the first black students to desegregae a white school in the south.

This is part of the Dear America series. I put it on my "to-read" shelf when I saw it come in to our library branch. I'm glad I read it. Dawnie is a smart, spunky girl who holds herself strong in the face of teasing, insults, and teachers who purposely make school difficult for her. The author uses her research and family experiences to create Dawnie's world. I came awa...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Sue rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile, late-20th-century, series, 2012-50-states

Good story about a 7th-grade girl integrating a school in Virginia. The story is told with dignity and candor, and has an interesting subplot about her brother with autism.

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Jan 13, 2012 Beatrix rated it 5 of 5 stars

I liked the book but it makes me mad because it is about how African Americans were treated in the 1900s.

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Jan 29, 2013 Tamarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ra-series, jf

JF Series
- great recommend for 4th-up
- Black History month
- historical fiction

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May 30, 2012 Sarah Sullivan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade, slatebreakers

Rereading Dear America favorites and reading newer ones for the first time for an upcoming Slatebreakers post has been really fun. This series is pretty consistently high quality. I hadn't read this one growing up, but it was quite good, with a fantastic main character and a willingness to take on challenging topics and avoid endings that are too easy. Full review up at Slatebreakers at http://slatebreakers.com/2012/07/06/d...

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May 15, 2012 Abbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: civil-rights, historical

Read my review at Gator Book Chomp.

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Feb 15, 2013 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Definitely one of the best Dear America books I've read and I've read them all! haha

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May 17, 2012 Maureen G added it

this i a very good book

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Jan 12, 2012 Hailey Dunn rated it 5 of 5 stars

It was a wonderful story

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Aug 19, 2012 Katherine Yu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great book!

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Jun 04, 2012 Percy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved it!

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Apr 02, 2012 Mrs. Tongate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: african-american, audio-read, historical-fiction

Incredible read on audio. Fabulous reader. First Dear America I've read and will look for more on audio. Ring that bell, Dawnie Ray!

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Dec 12, 2012 Alicia rated it 3 of 5 stars

An interesting story with a generous selection of historical details that children will absorb well to aid understanding of the civil rights movement.

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Nov 14, 2012 Arianna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, diaries, civil-rights-movement, historical-fiction-on-americas-past, surivial, reviews

Wow. Thats what i can say. I really loved this book and it shows Dawns hardships. I felt like i was in her situations and tried thinking about what i would do. This books/diary makes you look back in time and notice the hardships happened during the Civil Rights Movement. I would recommend this book to many people. :)

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About Andrea Davis Pinkney

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 books for children, including the Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Honor Book Duke Ellington, illustrated by Brian Pinkney; Let it Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book and winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award; and Alvin Ailey, a Parenting Publication Gold medal winne...more

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With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954 (Dear America)

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