I love this book. I loved it when I was in the target audience, I loved using it as a read-aloud with middle schoolers in Georgia as part of our advising time, and I loved listening to it on audiobook in the car with my children last week. There is plenty to learn about the time, but there are also ongoing themes about children choosing their friends, how to be a good friend and an honorable person, how individuals can empower themselves and each other in an unjust world. Over and over we understand that one does not have to act a certain way, just because one is part of a certain group. We also come to understand that even those who seem to be in opposition to us may also have redeeming features; that we may work together on the things we *do* have in common. Contrary to Jesusrulz666, I found that the messages throughout were about individuals making daily choices about themselves, their friends, their actions, and about how those choices affect both the people around them and their communities one step removed; not about government knowing best at all. My younger daughter is just 8, so hearing this book all at once (in 2 7-hour car rides) with everyone together for stop-and-explain times, worked for her. She would not have been ready to read it on her own, and she's already had some exposure to Jim Crow and desegregation (notably Ruby Bridges book and movie). My older daughter (11) had already read it before we listened.