Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case in ENGL 3390: Great Works for Middle Grades Spring 2013

Jan 24, 2013 Vanessa Jasso rated it really liked it

Getting Away with Murder is an eye opening non-fiction book exposing the true details of the 1955 Emmett Till case. Author Chris Crowe does a magnificent job in introducing to readers the gruesome act that served as the catalyst for the civil rights movement. The story is about Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old African American boy from Chicago who, unaware of the seriousness of the segregation and racism of the South, is said to have “molested” a white woman. Consequently, after violating a Jim ...more

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Jan 24, 2013 M rated it really liked it

Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case, provides an eye-opening account of a shocking crime. In 1955, a fourteen year old black youth named Emmett Till was visiting his family in Money, Mississippi. Emmett Till was from Chicago and not familiar with the Jim Crow rule of the South. This book details the events that led to the kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till, as well as the resulting court trial.

The content of this book provides a detailed account of the events, res ...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Amber Moore rated it really liked it

“Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case” by: Chris Crowe
4 Stars ****
This book is a nonfiction story of the murder of Emmett Till, the trial that followed, and surrounding events. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African-American young boy visiting his uncle, Mose, in Mississippi in 1955. Emmett was kidnapped and murdered because he made a seemingly harmless comment to a white woman. Two white men were put on trial for his murder, then quickly acquitted by an all-white ju “Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case” by: Chris Crowe
4 Stars ****
This book is a nonfiction story of the murder of Emmett Till, the trial that followed, and surrounding events. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African-American young boy visiting his uncle, Mose, in Mississippi in 1955. Emmett was kidnapped and murdered because he made a seemingly harmless comment to a white woman. Two white men were put on trial for his murder, then quickly acquitted by an all-white jury. This was an event that led into the Civil Rights movements.

This book could potentially be disturbing to younger readers. I, however, find it an important part of history that needs to be addressed. It would be a good source to use when talking about the Civil Rights movement. These times were not pleasant and should be represented in this light to portray the reality of the times. Teaching this book can help with reading strategies, before, during and after, discussions in the classroom, and can lead to concept analysis. It would be preferred to have already taught the students about the prejudices associated with the civil rights era, post-Civil War Southern culture, the definition of segregation and Jim Crow laws and the implications of Brown v. Board of Education. Students will be able to read and understand the text
without this background knowledge, but their reading would be greatly enriched, and lead into a deeper class discussion with prior knowledge of the times'. This book can lead into some good vocabulary, and talking about gender roles and diversity. One question that comes to my mind to represent to the classroom is: How does prejudice affect our actions as individuals today?

I think middle grades students can appreciate this book, given the best available knowledge prior to reading, for many reasons. They can learn to appreciate all of the rights we have today and understand the costs people were willing to (and had to) take to get us to where we are now. I also think that, to get the best/most out of reading this book, I would recommend it to grades 7 and 8. I also would recommend teachers spend part of year 6 covering the material that, I believe, is essential to know in order to prepare our young students to fully appreciate the positive changes that happened due to the negative situations people were forced to bear in the 1950's and 1960's. ...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Lisa Griffin rated it really liked it

Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case
By: Chris Crowe

The retelling of The Emmett Till murder and trial was difficult content to read. Although, Chris Crowe portrayed an accurate account of the events from 1955 the subject matter is hard to comprehend in 2013. I am familiar with the Emmett Till story and the details and photographs in this book continue to haunt me. I am excited to see a modern day author willing to retell the forgotten stories of our history so that stu ...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Sara rated it really liked it

Getting Away With Murder tells the true story of a young boy, Emmett Till. He was a fourteen-year-old boy from Chicago who came down south to Money, Mississippi to spend the summer with his great uncle Mose. Before long, the bold boy from up North broke an unforgivable Jim Crowe law, and Mr. J.W. Milam and Mr. Roy Bryant felt they needed to teach Emmett a lesson. The book takes us through the unprecedented trial of two white men, accused of murdering Emmett Till.
This book is easy to read. Middl ...more

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May 29, 2013 Donna Briggs rated it really liked it

Shelves: middle-grades-great-works

Chris Crowe has written an excellent book sharing the true story of fourteen year old Emmett Till, who was killed because he was insolent, and more importantly the wrong race. Using black words on white paper, and black and white pictures a story is woven of the black and white races in the 1950's, in the American south. The book is quite relevant, as we continue to have immigration and racial issues today.

This book is written in a raw, honest, straight forward fashion. There is no romancing any ...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Chelsea Wood rated it really liked it

"Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case"
By: Chris Crowe

Regrettably, I approached the novel expectant of strictly informative writing style. Chris Crowe far exceeded by detailing stories from all perspectives. The novel would be a great addition to middle school curriculum as it highlights not only the devastating tragedy of Emmett Till but also the familiarity of social injustice. Reading every point of view can develop students’ own opinions based on emotion instigated ...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Cecille rated it really liked it

Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe is a book detailing the events leading up to and following a fourteen year old African-American boy's murder during the summer of 1955 in Money, Mississippi. The significance of his murder and sham of a trial are what make this story one that needs to be retold over and over. The beginning of the book starts off similar to a journal entry, describing the night Emmett was kidnapped in the middle of the night from his Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe is a book detailing the events leading up to and following a fourteen year old African-American boy's murder during the summer of 1955 in Money, Mississippi. The significance of his murder and sham of a trial are what make this story one that needs to be retold over and over. The beginning of the book starts off similar to a journal entry, describing the night Emmett was kidnapped in the middle of the night from his Uncle Mose's house. Since only Emmett and his two murderers are the only ones that know what happened after he was taken, the journal entry stops there and the author continues with the impact of his murder, but more specifically how his trial shifted the civil rights movement into high gear. I thought the author's choice to begin with a play-by-play of what happened that night was a great way to set the mood for the story. The book also explains the heavily segregated and toxic Southern environment that Emmett had stepped into at that time with chapters such as Kicking the Hornet's Nest and The Wolfe Whistle. However, I thought it was very smart of the author to carefully paint both sides of the picture by showing that there was discrimination everywhere in the United States, not just the South. When describing Chicago in the 1950s Chris Crow states, "life in the sprawling, windy metropolis on the shore of Lake Michigan wasn't easy, but in nearly all cases, it was better than it had been in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia" (Murder 39). The author's choice to use pictures throughout the book was key to giving added depth and weight to the narrative. Without the pictures of the courtroom, the signs and the body, this book could have easily turned into a textbook read.

I would give this book 4 stars because while I thought it was an amazing read I'm not sure how middle graders would react to reading a story retold from an older person's perspective. It was a fairly easy read with only seven chapters. It's still very relatable considering the age of Emmett Till at the time of his murder and it would be an interesting lesson to teach and pull other content areas and current events into the subject. The pictures would definitely engage students to read certain parts of the book, but maybe not cover to cover with complete engagement. Therefore, I would probably pull and focus on certain chapters out of the book such as the ones about the courtroom and the aftershocks. A possible idea for a writing assignment would be where I have the students take a picture from the book and write a story from one of the characters' point of view. ...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Della Gill is currently reading it

I'm reading Getting Away with Murder: This has been an interesting telling of the death of Emmett Till. Interesting enough I have been told quite a different story about why he whistled at the store owners wife. This book definitely established a straight record for me. I am amazed that for years many individuals have not been aware of the real accuracy involving the death and consequences of those responsible for Emmetts death as well as the positive results that followed. Emmett Till and thos ...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Sam rated it it was amazing

Getting Away With Murder by Chris Crowe is an English teachers dream of a book to teach. It has many corresponding pictures with historically accurate story telling of the events and social context in which this event took place. This novel reads more like an interesting newspaper article than a non-fiction novel. The story never lags in the telling of it. Not that a story this outrageous could ever not have you on the edge of your seat. Crowe does an excellent job at tying this event into the s ...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Leighann rated it really liked it

Getting Away with Murder the True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe is an incredible story of murder and injustice. Emmett Till was a fourteen year old black youth who was brutally murdered by two white males and then his body was dumped in the Tallahatchie River. The story takes you from the incident to the court case to the aftermath of it all. The eye-opening story made an enormous impact on the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, the Emmett Till case became the greatest catalyst for t ...more

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