The Lucky Ones

(Hardback)

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Description

Award-winning author Linda Williams Jackson pulls from her own childhood in the Mississippi Delta to tell the story of Ellis Earl, who dreams of a real house, food enough for the whole familyand to be someone.

Its 1967, and eleven-year-old Ellis Earl Brown has big dreams. Hes going to grow up to be a teacher or a lawyeror maybe bothand live in a big brick house in town. Therell always be enough food in the icebox, and his mama wont have to run herself ragged looking for work as a maid in order to support Ellis Earl and his eight siblings and niece, Vera. So Ellis Earl applies himself at school, soaking up the lessons that Mr. Foster teaches his classparticularly those about famous colored people like Mr. Thurgood Marshall and Miss Marian Wrightand borrowing books from his teachers bookshelf. When Mr. Foster presents him with a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ellis Earl is amazed to encounter a family thats even worse off than his ownand is delighted by the Buckets very happy ending. But when Mama tells Ellis Earl that he might need to quit school to help support the family, he wonders if happy endings are only possible in storybooks. Around the historical touchstone of Robert Kennedys southern poverty tour, Linda Williams Jackson pulls from her own childhood in the Mississippi Delta to tell a detail-rich and poignant story with memorable characters, sure to resonate with readers who have ever felt constricted by their circumstances.

Reviews

Drawing from her own childhood experiences, Jackson (Midnight without a Moon, 2017) creates a compelling story about racism, poverty, and the power of community to help lift people up. . . an excellent recommendation for any young reader looking for new books about the civil rights era.
Booklist (starred review)

Jackson draws on her personal history to show real people behind Kennedys historic visit. . . She successfully presents individuals who, despite grinding poverty, nurtured hopes and dreams, and she highlights those like Mr. Foster and his church community who shared what they had with those in need. . . . Rich in detail; offers readers immediacy and connection.
Kirkus Reviews

Ellis Earl, Mr. Foster, the Brown brood, and their predominantly Black community are astutely characterized, imbued with eclectic and lovable personalities. Jackson (A Sky Full of Stars) delivers a touching novel that resonates today, centering the crucial impact of community on one familys financial precarity.
Publishers Weekly

An inspiring story about a tight-knit family, The Lucky Ones makes real the people who lived, worked, and grew up in the Mississippi Delta amid the tumult of the 1960s.
Foreword Reviews

Poverty and hunger are powerfully evident in this story which is based on author Linda Jacksons experiences growing up in rural Mississippi during the 60s. . . . The southern dialect of the Black characters is spot on and helps lend the story a sense of place.
School Library Connection

An engaging portrait of a boy who dreams of becoming a lawyer or teacher as a way to lift his family out of poverty in this novel inspired by Robert F. Kennedy's 1967 'Poverty Tour' of the Mississippi Delta. . . The author paints a vivid portrait of what it was like to be this poor.
The Buffalo News

Author Bio

Linda Williams Jackson is the author of Midnight Without a Moon, which was an American Library Association Notable Childrens Book, a Jane Addams Honor Book for Peace and Social Justice, and a Washington Post Summer Book Club Selection. Her second book, A Sky Full of Stars, received a Malka Penn Honor for an outstanding childrens book addressing human rights issues and was a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year. Born and raised in Rosedale, Mississippi, Linda Williams Jackson lives in Southaven, Mississippi, with her family.