Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down

Bibliography
Pinkney, A. & Pinkney, J. (2010). Sit-in : how four friends stood up by sitting down. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Plot Summary
Inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., four college students stage the first sit-in protest at Woolworth’s. All they want is a doughnut and a coffee with cream on the side. Their efforts in 1960 were one of the many sparks that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Critical Analysis
One of the interesting things about this book is its use of color - bright greens and yellows are used throughout the book. Maybe it was to represent the light at the end of the journey for these four students and the others that joined in which resulted in the Civil Rights Act. One of the strongest illustrations is on pages 18-19. A lunch counter extends past the page to represent all of the people that joined in after the four gentlemen in Greensboro began their sit-in. “What had started in Greensboro spread faster than a grease fire” (pg 18). Interestingly enough, these pages are in blue while at the end of the book, a similar image is presented in yellow. This supports the idea that the color yellow is being used as success. 

The language used in the book is simple for everyone from elementary aged to high school aged to understand. There are some high level vocabulary words to introduce such as integration, segregation and patrons. 

The book showcases the patience African-Americans possessed in order for equal treatment. They went into a Woolworth’s and ordered a doughnut and a coffee with cream on the side,  knowing they wouldn’t be served but staying anyway. They continued despite being ignored, reminded that it was for white’s only, and the police coming by. Eventually, the police came up with the idea of “loafing” and arrested protesters this way, but the idea had already spread to other states. Organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) were developed to help promote peace and equality. 

Young audiences will be introduced to the idea of segregation while older audiences can use this book to help dive deeper into the Civil Rights Movement. 

Review Excerpt(s)

Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction (2011)

Carter G. Woodson Award (2011) 

Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (2011)

“Through effectively chosen words, Andrea Pinkney brings understanding and meaning to what four black college students accomplished on February 1, 1960, by sitting down at a Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, NC.” - School Library Journal 

“Even young children will grasp the powerful, elemental, and historic story of those who stood up to oppressive authority and changed the world.” - Booklist

Connections 
-Activities 

• Create a Webquest using the resources provided at the back of the book in the Further Enjoyment section.  
• Pair with Scholastic's The Girl Who Dared which is about Barbara Posey in Oklahoma. She and other students stage a sit-in at Katz Drug Store two years before Sit-In. - Kayden, S. (2019). The girl who dared. Scholastic Scope, 67(5), 14–19.
• Use as a model for embedding text since Dr. King’s words are embedded throughout the book. 
• Show Reflections on the Greensboro Lunch Counter video to students to help contextualize the book. - National Museum of American History. (30 January 2020). Reflections on the Greensboro lunch counter [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/uFQ3ZCAgAA0 
• A Civil Rights timeline is presented at the back of the book. Have students group up and research an event or other events they can find that contributed to the Civil Rights Movement.  
• Have students develop their own recipes for different concepts such as freedom, equality, etc.