A picture book celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college kids staged a peaceful prot...
read full description
reviews
Jan 18, 2012
Audrey
rated it: 
This book has a wonderful concept. An appealingly illustrated picture book with quotes by Dr. King accenting an accessibly told narrative about sit-ins is a really great idea. It should be a great book. But it's not, because it is so very badly written. I don't just mean awkward sentence structure (though it is guilty of that). It's not even just that it's an unabashedly didactic book, destined to be one that adults love and children endure. I could have forgiven both on strength of the tr
More...
Dec 06, 2011
Jackie
rated it: 
A picture book that takes a tough subject and makes the word understandable, yet the concept is still unfathomable even by adults. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down is the depiction of an historical event in America, which is shameful and ethically immoral, and puts in it simple terms for kids to read. Segregation in the 60's was the norm, yet these young men were bolstered by Dr. Martin Luther King's eloquent words, gentle voice, and peaceful tenacity.
These four you More...
These four you More...
Apr 02, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
This history book is a wonderful collaboration by a wife (story) and husband (illustrator) team. It relates the famous occurrence of the four young African-American men, who in 1960 sat down at a Woolworth’s counter and tried to get served at a whites only segregated restaurant, and how their act inspired others to also get involved in the civil rights integration movement, and how they succeeded after a groundswell they helped create. This book was published 50 years after these events. So, I w
More...
2 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Mar 30, 2011
Sarah
rated it: 
This picture book offers an accounting of the sit-in started at a North Carolina Woolworth's lunch counter on February 1, 1960. David, Joseph, Franklin and Ezell, four college students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, ordered and waited for service. They ignored that the counter was for whites only.
Some treated them as though they were invisible, others ignored them. The four students refused to leave until they were served. A police officer came, but More...
Some treated them as though they were invisible, others ignored them. The four students refused to leave until they were served. A police officer came, but More...
Feb 02, 2011
Margaret Boling
rated it:
2/2/2011 ** This past weekend, I had the opportunity to hear Andrea & Brian Pinkney, a husband/wife team, talk about their book projects.
Sit-In is about the lunch-counter sit-in movement that started exactly 51 years ago on 2/1/1960 in Greensboro, NC. The author, Andrea Pinkney, has chosen two metaphors to illustrate the concepts of segregation and integration. First, building on the students' order of "a doughnut and coffee with cream on the side" she alludes to the law's More...
Sit-In is about the lunch-counter sit-in movement that started exactly 51 years ago on 2/1/1960 in Greensboro, NC. The author, Andrea Pinkney, has chosen two metaphors to illustrate the concepts of segregation and integration. First, building on the students' order of "a doughnut and coffee with cream on the side" she alludes to the law's More...
Aug 19, 2010
Amy
rated it:
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down
By Andrea Davis Pinkney illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Publisher: Little Brown and Co.
Trade Edition. ISBN 9780316070164. Price 16.99. unpaged. Includes timeline, afterword, further reading
4.5 stars
Four black students, inspired by the words of Martin Luther King, made history at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in February 1960. Fifty years later Andrea Davis Pinkney and her husband, illustrator Brian Pinkney have brought More...
By Andrea Davis Pinkney illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Publisher: Little Brown and Co.
Trade Edition. ISBN 9780316070164. Price 16.99. unpaged. Includes timeline, afterword, further reading
4.5 stars
Four black students, inspired by the words of Martin Luther King, made history at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in February 1960. Fifty years later Andrea Davis Pinkney and her husband, illustrator Brian Pinkney have brought More...
Mar 30, 2010
Allison
rated it:
Pinkney, Andrea Davis Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sittitng Down, 40 pages, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Language~G, Sexual Content~G; Violence~PG
In 1960 four students sat down at the counter of Woolworth’s and started a revolution. Taking Dr. Martin Luther King’s words of peace and non-violence to heart, these teens sat at the “WHITES ONLY” counter and waited, and waited, and were ignored until the store owner closed early as a way to get them to stop.
More...
In 1960 four students sat down at the counter of Woolworth’s and started a revolution. Taking Dr. Martin Luther King’s words of peace and non-violence to heart, these teens sat at the “WHITES ONLY” counter and waited, and waited, and were ignored until the store owner closed early as a way to get them to stop.
More...
Mar 24, 2010
Tasha
rated it:
Inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. four young men sat at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960. They placed their simple order of a doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side, and sat quietly, refusing to comply with the Whites Only rule. The next day, more people joined them, sitting still for what was right. The sit-ins got bigger and moved beyond lunch counters to buses, parks and libraries. The students were jailed for loafing,
More...
Mar 14, 2010
Ch_robyn
rated it:
Andrea Davis and Brian Pinkney’s brand new book (published 2010) is powerfully told.
It portrays the true story of the 1960 Greensboro sit-in, in which four boys “stood up” by sitting down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter despite the clear WHITES ONLY sign. The boys, of course, were not served. But that didn’t stop them from coming in day after day, sitting and waiting for “a doughnut and coffee with cream on the side.” The text is eloquent and compelling. The author writes, “At first the More...
It portrays the true story of the 1960 Greensboro sit-in, in which four boys “stood up” by sitting down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter despite the clear WHITES ONLY sign. The boys, of course, were not served. But that didn’t stop them from coming in day after day, sitting and waiting for “a doughnut and coffee with cream on the side.” The text is eloquent and compelling. The author writes, “At first the More...
May 03, 2010
kate and lexi
rated it:
This beautifully illustrated book details the famous sit-in at the Greensboro, NC Woolworth's counter in 1960. The prose is moving, speckled with quotes that inspired the protesters and good detail. As a picture book ought to be, it is both easily understood and deep enough for older readers. My kindergartner (who does have some exposure to the civil rights movement) grasped the storyline and was moved by the strength it took to stay still.
The simple, powerful prose is well matc More...
The simple, powerful prose is well matc More...
Nov 07, 2011
The picture book Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood up by Sitting Down is written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney. At the time of its publishing, this book recognized the 50th anniversary of the Woolworth lunch count sit-in. Andrea Pinkney does an excellent job of writing the text so the story conveys the courage displayed by David, Joseph, Franklin, and Ezell (the four African American protestors) as well as the prejudice and racism present in the late 1950s and early 19
More...
Nov 02, 2011
Liz
rated it:
Andrea Pinkney's version of the historic "Greensboro Four" sit in that began on February 1, 1960. The story is told in a poetic, song-song verse. The text plays off of the lunch counter setting (i.e. "At first they were treated like the hole in a doughnut -- invisible" and "Those kids had a recipe, too. A new brew called integration."
Award/Honor: A 2011 Jane Addams Peace Honor Book for Younger Children
In the classroom this book would be an exc More...
Award/Honor: A 2011 Jane Addams Peace Honor Book for Younger Children
In the classroom this book would be an exc More...
Jun 27, 2011
Amy
rated it:
Very well done book. My niece learned about MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks this year, and she immediately grasped what was presented in this book. I asked her lots of questions about what she was hearing and seeing here, and this enabled me to confirm that she was understanding what this story was telling. I was thrilled when I asked her what the people were sitting-in for and she responded, "for respect." She got the point.
This story provided a great starting point for us to More...
This story provided a great starting point for us to More...
Sep 18, 2010
Todd
rated it: 
This capable treatment of the Greensboro Sit-Ins of 1960 doesn't cover a lot of new ground, but is accessible and well-illustrated. Simple text does its best to cover a very complicated part of the Civil Rights era, as does a timeline at the back of the book. This is a fine addition to the burgeoning collection of books for younger kids on the Civil Rights era, though elements of it seem overly curricular, and the tone of the text can sometimes ring dated, and oddly poetic. It also becomes a
More...
Jul 01, 2011
The husband and wife team of Brian and Andrea Davis Pinkney has created a strong marriage of poetic text and lively, impactful illustrations in Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down. The book tells the story of the Woolworth counter sit-ins in the 1960s and goes on to explain other events of the Civil Rights Movement. The text is punctuated by words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a Civil Rights timeline helps students understand some of the important events of the time peri
More...
Oct 11, 2011
Heather
rated it:
The illustrations in this book were really compelling--scribbly ink and water color on lots of green and yellow backgrounds. The story is a look at the four students who sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 and the movement of nonviolent protest that they helped spawn. It includes quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and uses a clever recipe motif to describe what things make up justice (i.e. "Mix black people with white people,"
More...
May 19, 2011
Laura
rated it:
A brightly illustrated and easy-to-understand book about the Civil Rights Movement. While the story begins by focusing on lunch counter sit-ins, it expands to explain Dr. King's message, the foundation of SNCC, and legislative changes. The book also uses an extended metaphor of cooking, which I didn't think was necessary. A recipe for integration is included at the end of the book along with an explicit explanation of why the sit-ins were so important for those who were finally served. A tim
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 23, 2010
Janet
rated it:
Illustrations that do not force the characters on you,they could be anybody. Importance is not in the names of "David, Joseph, Franklin and Ezell" but on the deeds of martyrs in ending segregation in the private sector. All they wanted was "a doughnut, coffee with cream on the side"!
You will love the ease at witch the timeline seems to flow together and history becomes a living thing that grows with each act of bravery.
The words are easy and paced well to More...
You will love the ease at witch the timeline seems to flow together and history becomes a living thing that grows with each act of bravery.
The words are easy and paced well to More...
Mar 06, 2010
Heidi
rated it:
Grades 3-8
On February 1, 1960, four African American college students started the Greensboro Sit-Ins which led to non-violent protests across the country and integration of public places. This poetic telling of their story is musical and carefully spare, using the metaphor of food and recipes to show how non-violence can lead to change. The illustrations are gestural and springing with hope. The book includes a civil rights timeline, and a "Final Helping," a brief biography of More...
On February 1, 1960, four African American college students started the Greensboro Sit-Ins which led to non-violent protests across the country and integration of public places. This poetic telling of their story is musical and carefully spare, using the metaphor of food and recipes to show how non-violence can lead to change. The illustrations are gestural and springing with hope. The book includes a civil rights timeline, and a "Final Helping," a brief biography of More...
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 04, 2011
Abigail
rated it:
Author/illustrator team Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney (also wife and husband), who have collaborated on such titles as Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride and the 1999 Caldecott Honor Book Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, once again turn to the African-American experience in Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down, chronicling the extraordinary story of the four young college students - David, Joseph, Franklin, and Ezell - whose courageous actions, in sittin
More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Jan 19, 2010
Janet
rated it:
February 1, 2010 is the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Greensboro sit-ins. This beautiful book by Andrea Davis & Brian Pinkney captures the youth, determination, and steadfastness of the black students who quietly entered a whites-only luncheonette and sat down to place an order - and how their action grew, and became a key event in the American civil rights movement. Read and share this book with young people to celebrate the profound impact of students who sat down for what they be
More...
Mar 16, 2011
Paul
rated it:
This is about the Greensboro Four in 1960 and would be a good companion book to Russell Freedman’s Freedom Walkers. The watercolor illustrations are vibrant, but the people’s expressions lacked any real emotion, which is a shame as it is a very emotional story. At times the prose has a rhythm to it, which would be pleasing to young and old readers. The Civil Rights time line in the back makes this a great picture book for children learning about the historical time.
Jan 28, 2012
Paul
rated it:
Celebrate the first day of Black History Month with this picture book that revisits the four young men who sat steadfast at the counter of a Woolworth's sparking a longer, extended sit-in across southern states (the sit-in began February 1st, 1962). Andrea Davis Pinkney and her illustrator husband, Brian Pinkney, take us to the counter with striking illustrations and informative narration which includes a Civil Rights Timeline included at the end of the book.
Feb 04, 2011
Meredith
rated it:
This wonderously illustrated story of 1960 Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina, tells about an important event in the American Civil Rights Movement without ever becoming preachy or ascribing blame. Sit-In is a great book to introduce young children to the topics of civil rights and segregation.
A timeline is included in the back of the book as well as a photo of the actual college students who started the sit-ins.
Nov 23, 2010
Kris
rated it:
How do we explain the Civil Rights Movement to elementary school kids? With gorgeous picture books like this one. Using quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. like "we must...meet hate with love", Pinkney tells the story of the non-violent protests that began with four young black men who sat at a Woolworth's lunch counter and asked to be served just like any other paying customer. Beautiful words, beautiful art, beautiful message.
Mar 28, 2011
Jenny
rated it:
A story about Civil Rights and how college students decided to follow Martin Luther King's preachings of nonviolence by sitting in at Woolworths. All they wanted was a donut and coffee but they weren't served because they were African Americans. This was well written (brought me to tears in one part), had a great author's note about her research, and informative. Definitely worth reading and worth sharing with kids.
Dec 03, 2011
Kate
rated it:
This book is a great way to teach children about the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Children are able to read about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy, and the men and women who participated in the sit-ins. Children also learn about the importance of fighting injustice not with violence but with peace. I really enjoyed how the author made the important quotes big and bold throughout the book.
Dec 13, 2010
Diana
rated it:
The heroics of the Civil Rights Movement are so apparent in this book. It details the famous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in staged by young black Americans who were protesting segregation and its limits on freedom. This is a very beautifully illustrated book that shares just one piece of the heroism young black Americans showed during the fight for equal opportunities within America. Great for Grades 3 - 6.
May 14, 2010
Becky
rated it:
An excellent picture book about student demonstrators in Greensboro who began sit-ins at the Woolworth's lunch counter to protest segregation. Includes some great info about the nonviolent protest ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King; a civil rights timeline; and an author's note with more historical contest.
This book also has a certain comforting rhythm that makes me want to hear it read out loud.
This book also has a certain comforting rhythm that makes me want to hear it read out loud.
Nov 06, 2011
528_Tracy
rated it:
Four friends inspired by the Civil Rights Movement stage a sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960. Their brave act of defiance inspires others across the south to stage sit-ins to challenge segregation. Ultimately lunch counters are integrated and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is created to help organize the young demonstrators. The text includes a timeline of the Civil Rights Movement, as well as additional books and websites for
More...
