Websites
About Mildred D. Taylor, that is. Check out the biography, bibliography, and reference materials.
Want to know more about why Taylor wrote Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and what she hopes readers get out of it? If so, this little acceptance speech at the 1997 ALAN Awards is for you. (The ALAN award is an award given by the National Council of Teachers of English to honor significant contributions to the field of young adult and adolescent literature).
There's lots of information at the Library of Congress Segregation Exhibit about the history of segregation in America.
Here's some background on Jim Crow laws in the American South.
Check out these timelines to help put the novel's events in context.
Some information on lynching...truly one of the darkest aspects of American history.
Movies and TV
The novel was made into a television min-series in 1978. Bonus: Morgan Freeman played Uncle Hammer.
Articles and Interviews
This writer giggles like a schoolgirl because she gets to interview one of her favorite authors. And we don't blame her one bit!
This 2001 interview features lots of nifty autobiographical information about the author. It's mostly about Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and its prequel, The Land.
Video
A nifty photo montage that presents the author's biography and background on her novels.
This short film provides information about Taylor's life and works.
A creative little book trailer that was put together by an anonymous student as a class project.
Audio
Enjoy a reading from Chapter 1 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Images
Check out a photo of our author. Nice shades!
There are some newer covers out there, but this one's a classic, gold medal and all.
Take a look at this archive of 1930s-era photographs of sharecroppers to get a sense of what life might have been like for the novel's characters.
Separate and definitely NOT equal.