Historical Fiction - Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden, Don Tate (Illustrator)

Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden, Don Tate (Illustrator)

Summary: As a young man Ron McNair dreamed of becoming a pilot. In 1959 he was nine years old and lived in South Carolina.  He wanted to get some books from the Lake City Public Library where Mrs. Scott was the head librarian and he was the best customer.  He usually stayed and read the books, but today he wanted to check the books out and take them home.  Unfortunately, there was a rule that only let white people check books out.  Ron was black.  He was determined to get his books and stood firm even when the police and his mother were called.  Eventually, Ms. Scott made him a card and allowed him to check out the books.

My Perspective: This story is shared in the biography of Ron McNair (2005) written by his brother Carl S. McNair.  It provides a few more details, but never mentions the librarian’s name.  For example, Carl McNair points out that the public library was not so public in 1959 South Carolina. It was only for the white community.  In the story book version, Ron was a regular customer of the library.  In reality, Ron boldly went into the library that day to get books, disregarding the unwritten rule that excluded blacks from the library.  He wanted books and went in ignoring “the glares that followed him as he wandered among the shelves.” (McNair, C.S., 2005, p. 38).  But since he was a child, no one kicked him out.  The librarian did in fact tell him that he could not check them out because the books are “not for colored people” (McNair, C.S., 2005, p. 38).    She even tried to make him leave.  In Blue’s story, an elderly white lady offers to check the books out for him.  In McNair’s account (2005) a matronly patron speaks up on his behalf because she didn’t see any harm in giving the boy the books.  Ron didn’t budge, and the librarian called the police and his mother.  He sat down on the check-out counter and waited for them.  In Blue’s story, Ron jumps onto the counter (Blue, R., 2009). The police did not remove him nor did they consider it police matter.  One of the policemen suggested that it’d might be easier if she just let him have the books, which she did finally break down and allow him to check them out.  But she did it reluctantly, and not cheerfully as the storybook portrays.  Whether Rose Blue based her picture book on Carl McNair’s narrative is unclear, but the similarities are uncanny.  I like this story as it is based on a real story and shows a window into history.  The Kirkus review incorrectly states that it is a ‘fictional account of an incident in the Civil Rights–era” when in fact, it is based on an actual incident. Ron McNair’s incident occurred before the February 1960 sit-in at the Woolworth’s counter by four black students. He fought for his right to get books from the public library and he won. 

Library Application: A good activity for students would be to compare and contrast the Carl McNair’s account with Rose Blue’s account of the same incident. 

References:

Blue, R. & Naden, C. J. (2009). Ron’s Big Mission. New York:  Dutton’s Children’s Book. A division of Penguin young readers.

Kirkus Review (2010, May 20). [Review of Ron’s Big Mission]. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rose-blue/rons-big-mission/

McNair, C.S. (2005). In the spirit of Ronald E. McNair: Astronaut an American hero. Atlanta, GA: Publishing Association, Inc.