Goin’ Someplace Special

A young girl begs her grandmother to allow her to take the bus into town to go Someplace Special all by herself. While the reader is wondering where this special place is, we travel through a town segregated by Jim Crow laws. Trisha Ann must sit at the back of the bus, get up from a whites-only bench when she is tired, and endure the humility of getting kicked out of a fancy whites-only hotel. Along the way, she is heartened and strengthened by elders she meets along her route who remind her to walk proudly, stand tall, and don’t let anyone tell you how to think or how to feel. When the cruelty becomes too much, she meets an old white woman (who most of the neighborhood thinks is crazy) who reminds her to think of her grandmother and not give up. She gathers her courage and completes her journey—to the public library—one of the few places that have been integrated in her community where all are welcome. This book earns our Gold Star for its portrayal of hope and integrity despite oppression. The Author’s Note at the end of the book gives a short history of Jim Crow and why libraries were open to all.