ROLL OF THUNDER , HEAR MY CRY

Mildred D. Taylor was born in Mississippi and grew up in Ohio. She worked in Ethiopia with the Peace Corps before enrolling at the School of Journalism at the University of Colorado, where she helped develop a Black Studies programme. She is best-known for her Newbery Medal winner, ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY. Mildred D. Taylor still lives in Colorado.

Set in Mississippi at the height of the American Depression, this is the story of a family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride and independence against the forces of a cruelly racist society. 'We have no choice of what colour we're born or who our parents are or whether we're rich or poor. What we do have is some choice over what we make of our lives once we're here.' The Mississippi of the 1930s was a hard place for a black child to grow up in, but still Cassie didn't understand why farming his own land meant so much to her father.

During that year, though, when the night riders were carrying hatred and destruction among her people, she learned about the great differences that divided them, and when it was worth fighting for a principle even if it brought terrible hardships. Mildred D Taylor was born in Mississippi and grew up in Ohio. She worked in Ethiopia with the Peace Corps before enrolling at the School of Journalism at the University of Colorado, where she helped develop a Black Studies programme.