Comments

• mc

  I think that Jeremy simmses is diffrent from his brother, I think this because he talked mand tryed to carry on conversation with the Logans. When mr.Tom bee said "y`all hold up a minute." ithought he was mean but then he said "I got a mess-a fish for your aunt Callie" the I knew he was nice to them.

  6/9/2009 8:38:18 PM
• NHu

  On page 17, when it says "But then it most days..." and so on, Mildred D. Taylor was born in Mississippi and her dad was also born in Mississippi and grew up there but Mildred D. Taylor was not born in Mississippi. Also this book is based on a story her dad had told her and he really did live when it happened.
  

  6/9/2009 9:03:07 PM
• ps

  Mildred D Taylor was born in Mississippi. Here is some author bio information about her.
  
  Name: Mildred D. Taylor
  Birth Date: September 13, 1943
  Place of Birth: Jackson, Mississippi, United States
  Nationality: American
  Ethnicity: African American
  Gender: Female
  Occupations: Writer

  6/9/2009 9:25:35 PM
• Mr. Craft

  Jeremy Simms is my favorite character in many ways. He is young and could easily just think the way that his brothers and father think. Instead, he decides that skin color is no reason not to like people and, even after his dad hits him, he continues to do what he thinks is right and follow what is in his heart. Jeremy is awesome!!!

  6/10/2009 7:55:29 AM
• DC

  nhu, i totally agree with you but, MDT did grow up in Mississippi and this book is based on a story her dad told her, which was a true story

  6/10/2009 8:17:27 AM
• DC

  That is funny because MDT,s birthday is only 4 days away from mine

  6/10/2009 8:18:25 AM
• nv

  I felt really bad when the two white men said''your skin is black as dirt and I could grow seeds on you and they will grow in no time.

  6/10/2009 10:30:44 AM
• DC

  NV, i agree with you, I feel reallyyyyy bad about what the white men said.

  6/10/2009 1:21:53 PM
• DC

  I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE THIS BOOK SO FAR. IT IS SO INTERESTING AND, WELL, ADDICTICTING. I WISH I COULD READ ON EVERY NIGHT, BUT I CAN'T!! :-(

  6/10/2009 1:24:22 PM
• Mrs. McGregor

  In the book The Friendship, the reader really gets a chance to see how the Logan children support each other in difficult times. Little Man was upset because Thurston and Thomas said his hands were so dirty they could plant seeds on them. On page 20 Stacey is telling Little Man to not be upset and he says, "They can do plenty all right, but they can't do nothin'like that." In this statement Stacey shows that he understands his brother's feelings and tries to assure him that Thurston and Thomas can't do everything they say they will do. This is another great example of how strong the Logan family is in the Mildred Taylor books.

  6/10/2009 2:54:11 PM
• ECSN

  It is very easy to read The Friendship By: Mildred D. Taylor after you had just read Song Of the Trees because it is the same characters but just a year later. They living the same life so there is not as many new places, people, problems so it is easier just to read right through the introduction fast. You don't have to stop and think as much to get the people personality.

  6/10/2009 3:14:05 PM
• ly

  nv anddc I agree with you and I also felt bad when little man put his hand to the dirt

  6/10/2009 4:18:51 PM
• ly

  I love how MDT uses frases like yall and now he know to make it sound like somone else is talking

  6/10/2009 4:22:11 PM
• mc

  Nv, I felt bad for little man too that was very mean of them. I also feel bad for little man when they take out the axe and say "We better cut off those hands they to dirty." I`m not sure those are the exact words but they are close that made me feel sad.

  6/10/2009 4:34:54 PM
• mc

  I`t made me think that the simmes brother was going to say sonething mean to the LOgans but he didn`t!!!

  6/10/2009 4:38:18 PM
• ly

  mc I also felt the same way and also thought little man felt scared in that situation

  6/10/2009 4:49:47 PM
• jhc

  mc I thought that jeramy was going to say something mean to the logan kids to. But he didn't.

  6/10/2009 5:02:49 PM
• ly

  I love how MDT when the kids were going in to the store made them be quit and not say anything bad. It made it feellike they were undercover. Stacy was inn charge and if they mouthed off in front of white people they would get in big trouble. I also thought it was nice of the Logans to go all the way over there to get there friends/aunt Callies head medicin for her when she needed their help and they said yes to help. When MDT was explaining this moment at the store she made everyone act diffrently. Expecialy the white people.

  6/10/2009 5:06:16 PM
• jhc

  I am kind of feeling scared for Tom Bee because of what happened at the store and I feel like something bad is going to happen next.wheal just have to wait for ps to let us read the rest.

  6/10/2009 5:06:34 PM
• JM

  DC, I agree with you, this book is really good and it catches your intrest very quickly. And your right I could read this book every night.

  6/10/2009 5:07:39 PM
• jhc

  mc your right that was mean when they took out the ax and said they were going to cut of little mans hands just because he had dark skin.

  6/10/2009 5:08:21 PM
• jhc

  dc I also reeeeaaaaaaaaaaaly want to finish the book to but we cant.

  6/10/2009 5:10:28 PM
• jhc

  nv that was mean when the men said that they could plant stuff on little mans body.

  6/10/2009 5:12:01 PM
• JM

  NV, I thought it was really sad when the white men said that Little Man's hands were as black as dirt.

  6/10/2009 5:12:57 PM
• JM

  I agree with you Mr.Craft, I think that Jeremy is my favorite character too because he doesn't think that you should hate somebody if they have a different skin color. And even when his dad hits him he still thinks it's wrong.

  6/10/2009 5:22:26 PM
• JM

  NHu, I agree that on page 17 it says"but then in most days it was a Mississippi summer". And MDT and her dad were born in Mississippi and the family lives in Mississippi in the book and Mildred's dad tells her these stories.

  6/10/2009 5:32:01 PM
• nv

  I think it is easy to ECNSBUT THE ONLY REASON WHY I can't read this book is because of the improper grammer.

  6/10/2009 6:00:52 PM
• SJ

  JHC and MC
  
  I too thought that jeremy would be really mean but instade he was nice

  6/10/2009 6:13:53 PM
• SJ

  When little Man touched the glass and dewberry got the ax, I thought that he was going to cut off little mans hands.
  
  P14

  6/10/2009 6:32:21 PM
• ps

  jhc, what do you think will happen to Mr. Tom Bee? What happened to make you feel scared? I don't have the book here at home, but what do you think the white man will do to "Take care of him?" The last sentence on p29.

  6/10/2009 7:03:09 PM
• ps

  nv, do you mean it is easy to understand what you read when authors write with "poor grammar?" Or do you mean you have to slow down your reading pace because you are not used to reading sentences like this. I know jhc and I talked about this today and thought about some strategies to use to get through the "bad grammar" parts. You probably know that it isn't bad grammar for real. The way people talk in different parts of the country is called "dialect." That is the way in which someone uses a language.
  
  People from the Boston area have a dialect too. If you go down south, the people might ask you to repeat yourself because they are not used to hearing people pronounce words with r's at the end said like an a sound.
  
  Remember back to the beginning of the year when some of you noticed that I always pronounce the g at the end of an ing word. Now you are used to it and probably do not notice. It is because the English dialect where I grew up is different then Boston's, which is different from the South.

  6/10/2009 7:15:18 PM
• ps

  What are some students doing to make understanding the dialect easier when you read? I like to read it out loud, because then I hear myself saying the words and the sentences make more sense to me.
  
  Is anyone else doing something different? Please share.
  
  I know some students are reading with their parents. "You read one page I read the next" strategy.

  6/10/2009 7:18:29 PM
• cha

  I'm doing the same thing. I read it out loud. But i'm reading it all by my self and not with a parent.

  6/10/2009 7:31:34 PM
• cha

  It was exstremly racist and scarry when Dewberry said to little man "Just look ay ya! Skin's black as dirt. Could put seeds on ya and have 'em growin' in no time.

  6/10/2009 7:38:25 PM
• MW

  I THINK THE WALLACES ARE LIKE THE SIMMS IN THE WELL.THEY BOTH DONT LIKE BLACKS

  6/10/2009 7:39:04 PM
• MW

  i AGREE WITH MR.CRAFT.JEREMEY COULD HATE BLACKS LIKE HIS BROTHERS,BUT HE IS NICE TO THE LOGANS

  6/10/2009 7:42:21 PM
• nha

  On page 14, when Thurston Wallace threatens to cut Little Mans Hands off it is really scary ad I wondered "Would Thruston actually do that?"

  6/10/2009 7:48:17 PM
• MW

  THIS BOOK IS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMAZING.THIS IS THE BEST MILDRED TAYLOR BOOK YET.

  6/10/2009 7:49:27 PM
• nha

  sj, jhc, and mc, I too thought Jeremy was going to be mean because when MDT wrote"Simms" I thought of the Simses from The Well and I thought it was the same people, but apparently not. Do you think MDT did that on purpose?

  6/10/2009 7:54:51 PM
• cwk

  Im also reading Huck Finn so i get used to all the slang.

  6/10/2009 8:07:19 PM
• cwk

  I was really scared because I thought they were really going to cut off Little-Man's hands because he put his hands on the glass countertop. Little-Man loves to be clean so they probably were really clean. The white men were really mean to him.

  6/10/2009 8:16:02 PM
• ko

  I think it is sooo mean and unfair that white men in the book don't let black men call themselves by their OWN real name!! That is soooooooooo mean!!!

  6/10/2009 8:31:25 PM
• ko

  I totally agree with Mr Craft about Jeremy not being racist and that is good and he is one of my favorite characters, as well!! I predict that Cassie and her brothers will become friends with him.

  6/10/2009 8:31:57 PM
• og

  All of you are right. I was really scared and nervos when Little Man got in trouble with the white men and when they said they could plant seeds on him and they would grow.
  
  I like how on p 10 MDT said " then we went in" and the ends the paragh. It kind of leaves you hanging.
  
  PS, When I read the " bad grammar " it kind of sounded normal. Bacause in Corpus Christi everybody talked like that. ESPECIALLY with the Y'ALLS

  6/10/2009 8:49:54 PM
• ps

  I remember when I read this and the kids found out they had to go get Aunt Callie's medicine. Stacy didn't seem too excited to be going and MDT said that Ma always said to stay away from the store. I remember thinking, how bad could it be? I got so nervous to read on because it was scary to see Lil Man be treated like that and he's just a little kid (isn't he 6 or something like that?). He doesn't really understand. Why wouldn't they pick on one of the older kids that would know how to handle it better?

  6/10/2009 9:17:51 PM
• Mrs. McGregor

  I was really surprised at how the adult white men in both The Song of the Trees and The Friendship treated the Logan children. In both cases the adults felt they had the authority to treat the children in a harsh manner. In both books I wondered what drove them to be so mean to the Logan children?
  
  I also think it is very brave of Jeremy to be friendly to the Logans when his father could look out of the store at any minute. I can only imagine what would happen if his father heard him talking to the children.

  6/11/2009 9:04:52 AM
• ps

  I agree with you Mrs. McGregor. I know when my mom tells me stories about when she was growing up the grown ups always thought that "kids were for looking not for talking." She was a kid when the Logan children were kids too. She said that kids always got into trouble for talking and anything a kid said could be considered "talking back." But never did she hear talk like the way white people are talking to the Logan children. It must have been very scary to be a black child during this time in the Southern United States. But these people seem to be strong in character - they are so brave and always try to do the right thing.

  6/11/2009 3:24:58 PM
• SJ

  P 11
  
  When the aunt sends cassie and her brothers to get her medicine, I thought she might be sick.

  6/11/2009 5:46:30 PM
• cha

  I think it's really hard to understand the bad grammer like about is 'boout and going is goin'.

  6/11/2009 6:18:40 PM
• NHu

  MC and NV, I totally agree with you. It made me feel really bad when the two white men said, ''your skin is black as dirt and I could grow seeds on you and they will grow in no time." I also felt bad for little man when they take out the axe and say "We better cut off those hands they to dirty."

  6/11/2009 6:25:03 PM
• NHu

  I like how Mildred D. Taylor does not really always tell you how the character feels but you can figure it out by reading between the lines by listening to what the say and how they say it and how the character feelings are described at that time without Mildred D. Taylor actually saying how he/she feels.
  
  

  6/11/2009 6:46:45 PM
• ko

  Mrs. McGregor-- I, too, was really surprised at how the white people treated the black. I just can't belive how mean they were! I totally aggree with cwk about being afraid about Little Man's hands

  6/11/2009 8:20:58 PM
• CHU

  I wonder why mr.Tom Bee would call mr.Wallace John

  6/11/2009 8:33:23 PM
• CHU

  this book makes me feel really yucky, how they treat the black, huuuuuuuuh

  6/11/2009 8:35:10 PM
• CHU

  PS, i also agree with mrs. McGregor it's just horrible how they treat the kids

  6/11/2009 8:36:57 PM
• CHU

  I feel really really really bad for the black folk before and even right after the slaviry ended. During it i feel horrible just to think about what they did to the slaves and they didn't even get paid and they couldnt do that much, but that probly isn't the way for all of the slaves but that is what i learned so far through out my lessons, and also even after the slaves and just the people [white folk] that treated them horribly!!!!!!!!!!!! they still did when all that was over because they still thought really really badly of them and called them the "N" word!!!!! I just makes me feel weired to even just think about it

  6/11/2009 8:46:02 PM
• CHU

  OG i AGREE WITH U ON AGREEING WITH EVERYONE ELSE I WAS ALSO SCARED AND THOUGH AND WONDERED IF THEY WERE ACTULLY GOING TO CUT OFF HIS HAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  6/11/2009 8:48:14 PM
• ep

  THIS IS MY FAVORITE MILDRED TAYLOR BOOK SO FAR.

  6/11/2009 9:33:00 PM
• NHu

  On page 26, when it says, Suddenly the store went quiet you can tell something bad or exciting is going to happen sometime soon.
  On page 26, top of the page, I noticed that Dewberry is like Mr. Anderson in Song of the Trees because of the way Dewberry treats the blacks and how he acts.
  
  

  6/14/2009 11:19:03 AM
• NHu

  EP, I agree, this is also my favorite Mildred D. Taylor book so far that we have read.

  6/14/2009 11:21:22 AM
• NHu

  On page 30, when it says, Daddy! How come... etc, I think that Mr. Tom Bee saved John Wallace and that is why John Wallace lets Mr. Tom Bee call him by his first name even though he is a black man calling a white man by his first name.

  6/14/2009 11:27:10 AM
• mc

  I can`t believe that Mr.Wallice would shoot Mr.Tom Bee and I thought that Mr.Tom was going to get killed.

  6/14/2009 12:23:35 PM
• mc

  I thought that Jereemy was going to do something because the picture showed him standing up.

  6/14/2009 12:25:30 PM
• mc

  Cwk the book was saying that the white people said that since his skin was black or brown that they could not see the dirt.

  6/14/2009 12:31:53 PM
• chu

  nhu, I agree I also at that point in the book thought he saved him from something and that is why he can call him john

  6/14/2009 5:57:50 PM
• chu

  MC, I also cant belive he would do something like that

  6/14/2009 5:59:03 PM
• chu

  on pg 30 when Mr.Tom Bee was saying howdy john! I wondered why he was being so friendly

  6/14/2009 6:00:55 PM
• nv

  ep i also agree with tou its nmy favorite book to.

  6/14/2009 7:37:19 PM
• nv

  i thought it was really sad when mr.Tom bee got shot.

  6/14/2009 7:38:40 PM
• DB

  on p14 it shows how bad it was in the south.

  6/15/2009 8:12:53 AM
• DB

  I THINK MR.TOM BEE IS DEAD! WHY DOHID JOHN KILL HIM!
  
  I think this because it says there was no other sound so i think that means he is dead.
  
  
  

  6/15/2009 8:15:18 AM
• DB

  i feel bad for Tom Bee it must of REALLLLLY hurt when he got shot with a shotgun in his leg it must have blown apart his whole knee!!!!!!!!

  6/15/2009 8:18:14 AM
• cha

  I agree with marry that John would shoot Mr. Tom Bee after Mr. Tom Bee saved John's life two times and then John just kills Mr. Tom Bee.

  6/15/2009 8:22:54 AM
• DC

  mc, i totally agree with you. I can not believe that Mr. Wallice would shoot Mr. Tom Bee either, it is really mean and sad

  6/15/2009 3:43:13 PM
• DC

  chu, i agree with you on agreeing to og agreeing every one else, I can not believe the white men would actually thret to cut off little mans hand, just because he was black!!!

  6/15/2009 3:45:55 PM
• DC

  mc, i agree, I thought that Jeremy was going to say something rude, mean, or racist to the logans, but he did not!

  6/15/2009 3:48:55 PM
• nha

  on page 53 it says "There was no other sound " for the last sentence of the book. Does that mean Mr. Tom Bee is dead?

  6/15/2009 3:58:33 PM
• nha

  mc, I also can't believe that John Wallace would shoot Mr. Tom Bee after Mr. Tom Bee saved his life!

  6/15/2009 4:02:16 PM
• jhc

  I was suprised when john Wallace shot Tom bee in the knee because tom be saved john from a swamp and from fever.All just because Tom called john by his first name.

  6/15/2009 4:58:34 PM
• DL

  On page 11 Aunt Callie Jackson, who really isn't our aunt I also call people aunts or uncles even if they are not realated to me because were friends.

  6/15/2009 5:55:30 PM
• DL

  to Nhu I also agree that on page 26 that when it says the store went quite that something bad is going to happen

  6/15/2009 5:58:30 PM
• og

  MC I totally agree. I was really surprised that Mr. John Wallace shot Mr. Tom Bee. Because Tom Bee said John treated him like his own father. I was very scared that he would die.
  I think maybe this book is called the friendship because of the friendship between Mr. Wallace & Mr. Tom Bee. Other then that I wounder why it's called the friendship.
  It's kind of weird. There was a boy at my old school and his mom was kind of like Mr. Wallace.
  
  

  6/15/2009 6:34:16 PM
• SJ

  I thought that after Mr. Tom Bee was shot and cralled away, the last sentence said "And there was silence." I thought that was suspenceful.

  6/15/2009 7:03:31 PM
• nv

  ep,i agree with you its my favorite book so far.too.

  6/15/2009 7:07:11 PM
• nv

  i was really sad when john wallace shot mr.tom bee.

  6/15/2009 7:10:40 PM
• CHU

  nv, I totally agree I also was really sad when he got shot, I mean I thought he would keep his promise well I sorda did but I was really relifed he didnt die............... Why didnt he keep his promise even though he did call him by his first name with no Mr. or anything I mean Mr.Tom Bee saved his life twice!!!!
  -----------------------------------------------

  6/15/2009 8:14:54 PM
• KO

  When Tom Bee says "Ya' hear me, John? Till the judgement day! John, JoHn, JOHN!!" I felt sooooo bad for Tom Bee!!! He just seemed sooo helpless!! It's just sooo mean how John Wallace hurts Tom Bee like that after he saved John's LIFE!!!! Also, what is the "Judgement Day"??
  mc, I agree with you about haw Jeremy was standing up and was going to help TB (Tom Bee).
  

  6/15/2009 8:35:20 PM
• DC

  ko, i think the judgement day is the end of the world, when god comes back or something

  6/16/2009 5:27:28 PM
• mc

  DC, I thought that Jeremey was going to do something good not mean or bad.

  6/16/2009 7:17:45 PM
• mc

  CHU you and NV are totally right to me, Mr.Tom Bee did such nice and good things for him.

  6/16/2009 7:20:10 PM
• mc

  CHU I thought that Mr.Tom Bee only saved Mr.Wallis`s life once. Iknow he was sick but was he going to die of keep on being sick?

  6/16/2009 7:22:50 PM
• mc

  SJ, I when did he crawl away? But I thought that it was suspensful too.

  6/16/2009 7:25:41 PM
• mc

  OG, I think your right about the title that might be the reason for the title.

  6/16/2009 7:26:46 PM
• NHu

  On page 38, when it says, he paused then added... etc, I think that Mr. Tom Bee's and Dewberry's relationship is like Martin Luther King Jr.'s relationship with a white person when he was little and they were not aloud to play anymore together because he was black and they were pulled apart from each other.

  6/16/2009 9:31:25 PM
• NHu

  MC, I also thought that Jeremy was going to help Mr. Tom Bee but I think that he would wait until all the men were in the shop to help because Charlie Simms, his father, would probably whip him if he helped a black man.

  6/16/2009 9:34:55 PM
• DC

  mc, i totally agree with you, the ending is really suspensful

  6/17/2009 2:21:06 PM
• og

  NHa, you think like me. I was wondering if Mr. Tom Bee was dead to. "and there was no other sound" could mean there was no sound from John, No sound from Mr. Tom Bee, Mr. Tom Bee died, or he pulled himself out of hearing distance.

  6/17/2009 4:03:08 PM
• og

  NHu, do you mean John. Because Mr. Tom Bee doesn't like Dewberry. He likes John.

  6/18/2009 3:55:03 PM
• MW

  JOHN WALACE SHOULD NOT HAVE SHOT TOM BEE.HE SAVED HIS LIFE..............TWICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  6/18/2009 6:08:44 PM