Dear Willie Rudd

by Libba Moore Gray

Book Overview

In this thoughtful epistolary picture book, a white woman fondly remembers the black housekeeper who raised her in the time of segregation and reflects on how the world has changed.

Fifty years have passed since Miss Elizabeth was a girl, but she still remembers Willie Rudd, the black housekeeper who helped raise her. She remembers the feel of sitting in Willie Rudd's lap while the housekeeper sang to her. And she remembers how Willie...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689831056
• ISBN13: 9780689831058
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.0" x 9.7"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

An intimate look at the segregationist South

A middle-aged woman named Elizabeth sits in her porch in the Southern countryside, thinking and rocking. Growing ever-more restless, she decides to write a letter. A few pages into the book, we see young Elizabeth, a little white girl, sitting on the lap of a large, matronly black woman named Willie Rudd. In my classroom sessions, I ask the kids who they think she is. A grandmother is the usual first answer. Or a friend. Then I turn the page: the black woman is on her hands and knees, scrubbing the tile floor. I can see realization hitting my young audience - Willie Rudd was a servant. The rest of this quick book has Elizabeth writing how she wishes things would have been, instead of how they actually were in the Jim Crow South. This well-illustrated, bittersweet book is a great starting or ending point for a discussion about institutional segregation, and also highlights the importance of letting people know how you feel about them now, rather than later. While Dear Willie Rudd requires a certain level of knowledge about life for African Americans in the 1940s to be fully appreciated, it is nonetheless a book I would gladly recommend to any teacher, librarian, or parent.

Children can understand the past with this book...

Dear Willie Rudd, has been used in classrooms across the country as a read-aloud to help explain the way this nation has treated African Americans. Young students who learn about Dr. Martin Luther King and the work he did can appreciate this book as part of their social studies units. It is also a valuable sharing tool to learn about saying "I love you," even if it is after someone has left our lives.

A Must Read

When I first heard this book, I was brought to tears. I had to have it. You do too. This book does an excellent job of explaining Jim Crowe to young children. It is a must read during Black History month. All teachers should keep a copy for your library. It should be read it again and again.

Great Teaching Tool!

This book is well written, beautifully illustrated, and thought provoking. I use it to teach about equal rights and letter writing to 3rd-6th graders. Check it out!