Hopeful Jim Crow-era tale has positive messages, violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
In one scene, children discover the bodies of a Black woman, man, and child hanging from trees after being lynched. References to the Ku Klux Klan. Gang of White boys attacks Ella, kicks her, pushes her face in mud; one holds her on ground with his foot on her back. Two White girls are murdered; a Black boy is arrested. White kids mock, "That boy gonna fry. That's if we don't string him up first." White mill workers threaten a Black man: "Boy, you'll just be giving us cause to bring more rope." A boy is executed. Many descriptions of bullying: Henry, a main character, is bullied by another boy, and that boy is slapped by his own older brother. War is mentioned, and a character's father is away fighting. Reference to a woman dying after childbirth. Brief mention of men hitting wives and parents hitting children. Ella, age 11, is left alone in an apartment for nine hours at a time and gets locked out on one occasion.
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Language includes "heck," "dang," "darn," "shoot," name-calling like "pipsqueak" and "fathead." "Zebra" and "high yella" are used as slurs about a biracial child. White characters use "boy" to demean Black men. Black characters use terms such as "negroes" and "colored folks."
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Adults drink whiskey and wine; Ella's mom puts a small amount of wine into the 11-year-old's glass on one occasion. Ella drinks a nonalcoholic "Shirley Temple"-type beverage while the adults drink cocktails in a nightclub. She's left home alone and picks up a bottle of unnamed pills but doesn't open it. Characters smoke cigarettes and pipes.
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Characters in their early teens flirt and kiss. Mention of soldiers and "their girls" kissing at the train station. Reference to a poster that shows a topless woman.
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Coke, Bye-Lo Baby, Stetson, and Sugar Daddy brands mentioned.
Positive Messages
a lot
Friends and family, including chosen family, can make life happy through the worst of times. Learn to be comfortable with who you are, and don't let others define that for you. Accept other people for themselves, and judge based on actions rather than presumptions. Accept the reality of circumstances, even the bad ones, and try to have hope for the future. Curiosity, empathy, and perseverance are important character strengths.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Ella is curious and determined and knows her own mind. She's also empathetic, thoughtful, kind to others. Henry also shows empathy, even toward a boy who bullies him. He sometimes feels helpless because of his short stature but learns to stand up for himself. Myrna is older and more interested in boys and looking cool in front of her friends. Though she teases the younger kids, she cares for them and shows kindness when people suffer. All have strong values and a strong sense of justice.
Educational Value
a lot
Teaches readers about racist customs and practices in southern United States—e.g., segregated drinking fountains and railroad cars—and explicitly contrasts them with different social rules in the northern United States during the Jim Crow era. Events include lynching and unfair trials, as well as day-to-day mistreatment. Also teaches about women who worked building ships during WWII.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Written by female author Karyn Parsons, who's biracial (Black and White), the story is told from the point of view of biracial girl Ella and two Black children, Henry and Myrna. In addition to providing positive images of working-class Black people during the 1940s and 1950s, the book also shows both cruel and kind representations of White people during the Jim Crow era. There's LGBTQ+ representation in the main character's mother, Lucy, and her partner, Helen, who have a caring and supportive relationship. Ella, her cousin Henry, and Myrna (whose mother turned up on the doorstep and died after giving birth) are raised by Granny and Poppy in an extended family unit that's loving and teaches respect and responsibility. Ella doesn't feel confined by gender roles, wearing a Stetson cowboy hat, saying she'll be the first woman to fly a fighter plane, and wondering whether she'll be good at chemistry, math, or building things.
Parents need to know that Karyn Parsons' How High the Moon is a hopeful historical novel set in South Carolina and Boston during the mid-1940s. The three main characters—middle school kids Ella, Myrna, and Henry—are exposed daily to racism while living under Jim Crow laws, as well as serious injustice: A 14-year-old boy is wrongly convicted and executed for murder. There's a scene in which children discover the dead bodies of a man, woman, and child hanging from trees after being lynched, and Ella is attacked by three White boys in the woods. There are several scenes of bullying, both physical assault and mean language. Adults smoke and drink, and wine is poured into an 11-year-old's glass on one occasion. The main characters model positive character strengths of curiosity, empathy, and perseverance in the face of harsh realities.
This is an incredible read with so many talking points and opportunities for further learning springing from it. For those with no knowledge of jazz, following up on the songs littered throughout this text will add a beautiful extension to reading - yes the book title is also a song title and the connections between the story's Ella and Ella Fitzgerald who also sang this song, are too good not to expound upon.
There are some desperately sad moments in this book. The wrongful conviction and death of a young black teen (it's based upon the real story), the impact it has on the community, the finding of a family lynched in a tree, the assault on the story's young heroine are all moments that distressed me as a parent reading, but which not not affect my daughter in quite the same way. She was angered which I suppose I ought be proud of, but the hardest question she asked of me was, "Why didn't everyone want to leave the south if the white people there were so awful to them? Are they nicer now?" and that led to even more in-depth conversations about economics and family and social structures. You could read this book and enjoy it as a stand alone book, but I suspect most young people will have more questions than answers upon finishing it, so be prepared to do some home work and enjoy the kind of discussions we should be having with our kids at this moment in time. Sadly relevant in 2020. Not a new name or face but new author to follow for sure.
What's the Story?
In HOW HIGH THE MOON, 11-year-old Ella lives with her grandparents, her 12-year-old cousin Henry, and teen Myrna in the Jim Crow South. Ella doesn't know who her father is—though everyone suspects he's White. Her mother, Lucy, lives in Boston, where she works in a shipbuilding factory and pursues her dream of being a jazz singer. Ella is ecstatic to get a letter from her mother inviting her to come stay. But once there, she finds Helen, the roommate who cuddles up in Mama's bed when Ella wants to be there. And between work at the shipyard and performing at nightclubs, Mama is hardly ever home. She doesn't get around to enrolling Ella in school, so the girl spends long, boring days by herself in the small apartment until Lucy takes off for New York and sends Ella home. The same day that Ella gets back to South Carolina, one of the boys from school, George Stinney, is arrested and charged with murder, sending worry throughout the community.
This heartfelt tale about childhood in the Jim Crow South brings us a girl who finds a sense of family and identity despite an absent mother, a mystery father, and a cruel society. How High the Moon, the debut novel from Karyn Parsons, grew out of a conversation the author had with her mother. Parsons wondered how her mother could claim she had a happy childhood when she grew up in the South under Jim Crow. The subplot about the boy who's wrongfully convicted and executed comes from a real legal case, giving it all the more impact. The biggest strength of the novel is the character of Ella: Her close relationship with her grandmother, her longing to be with her mother, and her desperation to know who her father is all ring true.
The author chose to have each of the three main children characters narrate chapters. But this isn't quite balanced, since Ella is clearly the central character, and the other narrators and their perspectives aren't as well developed. That said, their parts do add important context and give further insight into what's happening around Ella as she searches for answers at a time in her life and in a world when things don't always make sense.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way How High the Moon explores racial identity. Some kids at school call Ella a "zebra." When Ella's grandmother confirms her suspicion that her father was White, Ella asks "what she is." How do lessons from her grandparents help her accept herself for who she is?
Throughout the story, many community members step up to act as family. What are a few examples of that? What difference does that make in the characters' lives?
The author uses an unusual structure for the book: Three different characters tell different parts of the story. Did you like hearing from Ella, Myrna, and Henry? Did that make the story more interesting? Was it ever confusing?
The book includes several examples of racism and inequality during the Jim Crow era. Is this a time in history that you know much about? How are Black people in Boston and South Carolina treated differently? How does this compare to today's world? Can you think of examples of racism you've witnessed or encountered yourself? Why is it important to keep fighting injustice?
Available on:
Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
Last updated:
April 29, 2024
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