When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods - ESSENTIAL

 When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods, 160 pages. Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin), 2022. $17

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (Watts riots, deaths mentioned)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

It is 1965 and Eden is so excited her cousin 13yo Winter is coming to visit for two weeks. Eden and her family African American family moved to Los Angeles and she hasn't seen her cousin for a long time. She has a long list of things they will do while he is visiting. They start out doing fun things, then Winter wants to see if he can find his father that disappeared 10 years earlier in the Watts area of LA, near where Eden lives. They start playing investigators and slowly his father’s whereabouts start coming together for them until they hit a dead-end. At the same time riots start in Watts. Will life ever be the same again? Will they ever feel safe again?

This is a "must read" novel in verse. It was fascinating and educational. Because of this book I spent hours researching the Watts sculptures, the Watts Riots and that area of south east Los Angeles. I found it both fascinating and frightening. A great book to read to fifth graders or read in literature circles so all the things in the book can be discussed and talked about. Modern children may be a little jealous by the amount of freedom 1960’s kids had.

Ellen-Anita, Librarian