Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Family quest meets Watts riots in heartfelt novel in verse.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
WHEN WINTER ROBESON CAME, set in 1965 Los Angeles, finds 12-year-old Black Southern transplant Eden Louise Coal eagerly awaiting the arrival of her 13-year-old cousin and pal Winter from Mississippi. She's looking forward to summer fun like the beach, Disneyland, and also a visit to the Watts Towers, but it turns out Winter's a man on a mission: His father left Mississippi 10 years ago for Los Angeles, planning to find work and bring the family. He wrote home -- and vanished. So Winter's making the most of his L.A. visit, and a 10-year-old return address, to find his long-lost dad. In the course of their quest, they visit new neighborhoods, make new friends, learn some history, compare a lot of notes, make some great discoveries -- as racial violence is about to explode a few blocks away.
Is It Any Good?
Author Brenda Woods sends two young Black cousins on a quest to find one's long-lost father in 1965 Los Angeles on the eve of the Watts riots in a heartfelt, appealing historical tale. Packed with local color and cultural detail, When Winter Robeson Came is a satisfying, uplifting tale that makes the world's injustices all the more stark seen through the eyes of young Eden and Winter, who thanks to their loving parents' struggles have the confidence and courage to make things better for themselves and their loved ones. It's not just racism that blights lives, as Eden, an aspiring songwriter who writes the story in verse and hears music everywhere, discovers in a soul-crushing moment with her new, Black piano teacher when she's missing her musical mentor from back home.
"Fact is, California was slowly wilting the musical dreams
"Miss Elvira Porter had begun to nourish.
"My teacher here came highly recommended.
"Mr. Marcus Antonius Duvall, brimming with musical expertise,
"But with a love of it missing from his soul.
"When I professed my desire to compose music,
"an opera even, like Porgy and Bess, he shook his head.
"But you're a girl, Miss Coal.
"And to that I replied, I know.
"The seed of doubt sown, I hadn't practiced since."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how he characters in When Winter Robeson Came are going about their everyday lives and find themselves caught up in historic events -- here, the civil rights movement of the 20th century. Do you think it's valuable to see overwhelming events through the perspective of people who experienced them? How is their viewpoint different from the one we might have many years later?
Do you know anyone who's reunited with a friend or family member they thought was lost forever? How did they find each other, and how have things worked out with them?
Eden and Winter didn't have the internet in 1965. If Winter were looking for his dad today, do you think his search would be easier? Where do you think he might find helpful information?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Topics : Friendship , History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Nancy Paulsen Books
- Publication date : January 11, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 12
- Number of pages : 176
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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