Books Like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Christopher Paul Curtis, Reginald André Jackson

Like the Logans, the Watson family is loving and funny, and their road trip south brings them face to face with the violence of the civil rights era, told through a sharp young narrator.

Christopher Paul Curtis, Reginald André Jackson

Another Depression-era story with a Black child at its heart. Bud's determination and humour as he searches for family will appeal to anyone who cheered for Cassie's spirit.

Rita Williams-Garcia

Delphine is a strong-willed, observant girl like Cassie, and her summer in 1968 Oakland mixes sibling squabbles and family tension with a growing awareness of injustice and pride.

Harper Lee

For older readers ready for a step up, Scout's childhood in a 1930s Southern town echoes Cassie's world, as she watches the adults around her confront racism in court.

Sharon M. Draper

Set in segregated 1930s North Carolina, this follows a thoughtful girl whose community resists the Klan and voter suppression, with the same blend of family closeness and quiet bravery.

Kristin Levine

A shy girl's friendship crosses racial lines during the 1958 school integration crisis, exploring loyalty and standing up for what is right much as Cassie learns to do.

Jacqueline Woodson

Woodson's memoir in verse recalls growing up between South Carolina and New York during the civil rights movement, sharing Taylor's focus on family stories, roots and dignity.

Karen Hesse

Another Newbery winner set in the Depression, this verse novel shows a family clinging to their farm through hardship, echoing the Logans' fierce attachment to the land.

Pam Muñoz Ryan

A Mexican girl's family loses everything and becomes farm workers in Depression-era California, facing prejudice and learning self-respect, a parallel journey to Cassie's year of discovery.

Mildred D. Taylor

Taylor's prequel for older readers tells how Cassie's grandfather Paul-Edward fought to own land after slavery, explaining exactly why that land matters so much to the Logans.

Laurie Halse Anderson

Isabel, enslaved during the American Revolution, fights for freedom with the same stubborn courage as Cassie, in a gripping story that digs into the roots of American injustice.

Jewell Parker Rhodes

Linking a modern boy's story with Emmett Till's, this short, powerful novel shows readers moved by Roll of Thunder how the injustices Cassie faced still echo today.