The Red Rose Box

Author:  Brenda Woods
Title:  The Red Rose Box
Illustrator:  n/a
Genre: Children's Chapter Book
SubGenre: Juvenile Fiction
Theme: Prejudice & Tolerance / Changes & New Experiences
Primary & Secondary Characters: Leah (Primary) & Ruth, her mother, father, grandmother, and Aunt Olivia (secondary)
Date of Publication:  2002
Award(s):  2003 Coretta Scott King Honor Book
Publisher:  Puffin Books
Summary:  This is a novel about a young girl named Leah, who for her tenth birthday recieves a  wooden box with red roses carved on top from her Aunt Olivia who lives in California. Leah is an African American girl who lives with her 8 year old sister Ruth, her mother, and her father in Louisiana in 1953. The box contains a letter to her mother, female items for Leah, and four train tickets for Leah, Ruth, her mother and grandmother to come visit Aunt Olivia. Leah learns why her mother and aunt haven't spoken in 12 years until the arrival of the box. Leah's family is poor and there is racial tension in the town she lives in. When they go visit California there are no segregation signs and she can't understand why she can't stay in California where there's freedom. Then a tragic event happens and Leah and Ruth are forced to stay with Aunt Oliva permanently and we see how Leah matures in dealing with the events that are happening in her present life, past, and future. This is a good book for a classroom library and can be used when discussing civil rights, "freedom," and dealing with adult situations at a young age.