PK-5

Ivory Belle Coles was an African American singer who endured racism as she toured states in the south. She never allowed her misfortunes and trials keep her from sharing her voice with the world. Ivory and Belle stuck together and provided support and encouragement to one another. When Grandmama Sings is a cute little glimpse into what musicians, singers, and families went through while working and trying to make a living. ( )

When a Grandmama Sings is a good book to read. This book is about a little girl named Belle whose grandmother gets an opportunity to travel and sing. Belle gets to travel with her grandmother as she travels for shows and helps her with reading. Along the way, they experience things such as segregation and racism but they also had good experiences which brought a lot of people together with Belle's grandmother voice. ( )

This book is fantastic too! This Grandma uses her natural talent to inspire people to come together for the love of music. It was set in the era of segregation, so bringing people of all colors together was part of Grandma's main motivation. Additionally, she wanted to inspire her granddaughter to find her voice and do the same. They traveled all over the South for Grandmama's concerts and had a unique experience in each city. I really liked this book!! ( )

A little girl, Belle, tells a story about her grandmother. Her grandmother does not know how to read but listens to Belle read to her sister. Her grandmother loves to sing and sings all day long, while she's cooking, cleaning, and working in the garden. Everyone in the small town loved to hear grandma sing, and one day she got booked to sing in a small singing tour of the south. Belle wanted to go on the tour to help her grandmother read, but Belles dad didn't like the sound of that with all the racist things happening. They had a big good-bye dinner and had the whole family over to wish them a great trip. On the trip they passed abandoned buildings, small churches, and farms. They were nervous, but so excited too. In a city where they went to play they had white-only signs and Belle pointed them out to grandma. They stayed in a black-only hotel. The next show in New Orleans decided not to pay grandmother but since grandmother loved singing she sung anyways. That night the show ended late and nothing was open except a white-only restaurant. Everyone was shocked and the waitress didn't want to serve them, but brought them out a brown bag dinner after everyone left. In Alabama they got stopped and the police went through all their belongings, throwing it as they did. At the show in Alabama people were separated, that made Belle sad, but grandmothers singing lifted everyone out of their seats and brought everyone together. Grandmother and Belle wished that everyone could always get along and be together. Racism affects everyone and throughout the years many people have been treated unfairly. Racism can make people feel uncomfortable or unsafe. ( )