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Kizzy Ann Stamps
by
Jeri Watts
Taking things in stride is not easy for Kizzy Ann, but with her border collie, Shag, stalwart at her side, she sets out to live a life as sweet as syrup on cornbread.
In 1963, as Kizzy Ann prepares for her first year at an integrated school, she worries about the color of her skin, the scar running from the corner of her right eye to the tip of her smile, and whether anyone...more
In 1963, as Kizzy Ann prepares for her first year at an integrated school, she worries about the color of her skin, the scar running from the corner of her right eye to the tip of her smile, and whether anyone...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
August 14th 2012
by Candlewick
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Kizzy Ann is a sparky 12 year old who is apprehensive about her new school. Her previous teacher encourages her to write to her new teacher, and in a series of letters Kizzy Ann introduces herself, her family, and her beloved dog Shag, a border collie. This is a story about school, family and finding out who your friends are.
But it's another story too, a story about the struggle for integration in America in the early 1960s. Kizzy's new school was formerly whites only, and Kizzy is one of 4 blac...more
But it's another story too, a story about the struggle for integration in America in the early 1960s. Kizzy's new school was formerly whites only, and Kizzy is one of 4 blac...more
Kizzy Ann is a 12-year-old girl in 1963 who will be transferred to a just-integrated school in the fall. On the advice of her formidable, not-to-be-questioned former teacher, Mrs. Warren, she begins corresponding with her new teacher, Miss Anderson, in order to let her new instructor know more about her. So the book is constructed as a series of letters although you never read Miss Anderson's replies.
Important facts to know about Kizzy--according to Kizzy--are that she owns the best dog in the u...more
Important facts to know about Kizzy--according to Kizzy--are that she owns the best dog in the u...more
Kizzy Ann Stamps is a girl who is starting at a new school. A new, previously all-white school in the South in 1963. Her former teacher, Mrs. Warren, a woman who gave up her job as the community's only teacher at the school for black children so that they could go to the white school, tells Kizzy to write to her new teacher, Mrs. Anderson, which Kizzy does, even though she says Mrs. Warren would say she's "a troublemaker." Kizzy then continues to write to her teacher, though it changes to a jour...more
Kizzy Ann Stamps in nervous about school starting. For the first time, school will be integrated and Kizzy Ann will be going to what once was the all-white school. Fitting in would be hard enough anyway, but Kizzy Ann was in an accident that left a long scar on her face. Luckily she has her loyal border collie, Shag, who always knows how to comfort her.
The story is told through what start out as letters Kizzy Ann writes to her new teacher, and then turn into journal entries once she gets to sch...more
The story is told through what start out as letters Kizzy Ann writes to her new teacher, and then turn into journal entries once she gets to sch...more
In 1963, Kizzy is very concerned about starting a new school in the fall, especially since her class is being transferred to a predominately white school. Her teacher, Miss Anderson, has the children write letters to her to ease this transition, and since Kizzy loves to write, she sends huge epistles about her dog, Shag, how she got the sizable scar on her face, her difficult relationship with neighbor and schoolmate Frank, and her older brother's growing dissatisfaction with the lot of blacks d...more
Kizzy is an African American girl in 1963 who will be attending an integrated white school in the Fall. Her previous teacher, Mrs. Warren, insists each of her students write a letter to the new teacher, Miss Anderson. Kizzy begins writing in July, and when Miss Anderson writes back, she continues to write to her. When school starts in September, Kizzy and the other students in the class receive journals from Miss Anderson. Kizzy continues to write to her teacher in the journal, handing it in occ...more
Kizzy is going to the white school at the beginning of the integration movement in 1963. At the urging of her teacher she is writing to her new teacher at the beginning of the book. Kizzy is very bright and knows her shortcomings and those of people around her. She shares these insight with Miss Anderson all during the summer in correspondence which continues during the school year in journal entries. Kizzy faces constant prejudice on different levels and is determined to overcome as much as pos...more
Kizzy Ann is both a typical middle-school student and one that stands out. It's 1963 and Kizzy Ann will be attending an integrated school in Virginia for the first time in her life when she begins school in the fall. She's 12 and her best friend is a stray border collie named Shag. Her story is told through a series of letters and journal entries over the course of that school year.
Kizzy Ann Stamps is a character that one feels drawn to immediately; somehow, no matter that her story takes place...more
Kizzy Ann Stamps is a character that one feels drawn to immediately; somehow, no matter that her story takes place...more
Kizzy Ann Stamps speaks her mind. So when she's asked to send a letter to her new teacher at the formerly white school, Kizzy expresses her concerns at being one of the students integrating the school. But what starts as letters evolves into an extensive journal when school begins. With her teacher's encouragement, Kizzy Ann pours her thoughts, problems, and puzzles onto the page. In addition to navigating the shifting social order at school, Kizzy worries about the glances her scar attracts, th...more
It is 1963 and integration has at last come to rural Virginia. For 12 year old Kizzy Ann Stamps, that means a new school. Her teacher, Mrs. Warren, has given up her job teaching at the one room school for black students so that her kids can go to the larger, better equipped, formally all white school. It will be, Mrs. Warren tells them, a real opportunity.
As summer vacation begins, Kizzy takes Mrs. Warren's advice and writes to her new teacher, Miss Anderson. And to her surprise, Miss Anderson r...more
As summer vacation begins, Kizzy takes Mrs. Warren's advice and writes to her new teacher, Miss Anderson. And to her surprise, Miss Anderson r...more
Ok, first: This was a really sweet story. I totally rooted for Kizzy throughout, and got really happy when things actually went her way (they often did not.) I also totally loved her wonderful, wonderful dog Shag. And I was interested to read about some details of life in the barely, uneasily integrated American South that I hadn't come across before (like the fact that dog shows did not permit African-Americans to show dogs.) In the author's note at the end, I learned that one of the characters...more
Though this book is a aged to a younger audience than me, i really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the historical fiction and the personal journey of a young black girl in the sixties. Although i'm not black myself, i was able to relate in many ways to this character, and she was an easy character to love and root for. The only part i was apprehensive about was the occasionally slow moving plot. other than that, this book is exciting and i believe with all of the superficial books out there aged for this...more
Nice little story written through letters and journals about a young African American girl who is about to enter a just-integrated public school in the southern US. Kizzy pours out all her worries to her soon-to-be teacher - and there are plenty of thing to worry about in Kizzy's world.
The nice little twist on this story is Kizzy's beloved border collie Shag, who is her constant companion, and with whom Kizzy is learning herding techniques inn hopes of entering an upcoming herding competition.
The nice little twist on this story is Kizzy's beloved border collie Shag, who is her constant companion, and with whom Kizzy is learning herding techniques inn hopes of entering an upcoming herding competition.
I certainly love historical fiction that doesn't have the time period encroach upon the story; I also do love a book written with letter - I feel intimate with the main character as I'm getting a window to her innermost feelings, and I love a story with determination and a dog. So, what is there not to love? Of course there's more - an unexpected supportive friend and a treatment of school integration which isn't all cliche or all about overt prejudice. A successful first (middle grade) novel!
This book is aimed at middle readers and I think, content-wise, it would be just right for my 9-year-old. It is a quick, easy and appealling read about a young black girl attending a newly integrated school in the 1960's. While the book avoids explicit violence, it does not shy away from showing the prejudice that Kizzy Ann (and the real children she represents) faced every day. For older kids, I'd go with the non-fiction "Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice" by Phillip Hoose.
3.5 stars. Kizzy is a spunky, smart African-American child writing to her new white teacher in 1963 in the south as she's about to start an integrated school. A sweet historical fiction set in Civil Rights era nominated for the Jane Addams award. Definitely aimed at an upper elementary/early middle school audience--strong readers and girls who like dogs (her dog Shag is a prominent character) might enjoy this book. I liked it, but wasn't blown away.
A nice enough book. I didn't like the central conceit that the entire book is a series of letters/journal entries to her teacher. It didn't feel real to me. People are not that honest about their feelings with strangers, and then not that honest with people they see on a regular basis that are not family.
I thought Kizzy Ann was somewhat passive as well. She gets pushed into everything that she actually does.
I thought Kizzy Ann was somewhat passive as well. She gets pushed into everything that she actually does.
This is a wonderful little book that grows on you slowly. Told almost entirely in letters and journal entries, it features Kizzy Ann, a sharp-as-a-tack young black girl attending a white school during the early 1960's, just as schools in Virginia were becoming integrated. As for me - a white girl growing up and going to school on the West Coast during this same time period - I had no idea, at the time, of the racial segregation that went on in other parts of the country. Even today, it is shocki...more
Set in 1963, Kizzy Ann Stamps is told through a series of letters written by Kizzy to her teacher at her newly integrated school. Kizzy is terrified to going to a white school, but she is also direct, outspoken and strong in her convictions. Her voice is very clear and likeable and the relationship that she has with her border collie, Shag, is beautifully constructed. I loved this book.
Kizzy is a delightful narrator. Ms. Watts does a wonderful job creating Kizzy's voice on the page. While the conclusion seems a little rushed and sudden, this is definitely worth a read. A wonderful piece for upper elementary/middle school readers. Deals with concepts of segregation and the power of writing.
Using a series of letters, then journal entries to her teacher, 12-year-old Kizzy draws readers into the world of segregation in 1963 Virginia.
Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...
Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...
Sweet story that deals gently with discrimination and injustice in a historical setting (integration in the 1960s). For the older audience for this book (ages 11-13), it might be well-paired with My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow for a very different school integration story.
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Jeri Watts has worked as a public school teacher for twenty-seven years. She has written numerous short stories as well as the picture book Keepers. Kizzy Ann Stamps is her first middle-grade novel. Jeri Watts lives in Virginia, where she is a professor at Lynchburg College.
More about Jeri Watts...
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