| Let Them Play The poignant message of this tale rings true even today, and Ellison's lovely paintings lend strong support to the meaning and emotion of the text. School Library Journal Chris Ellison | Illustrator BiographyChris Ellison, after receiving his formal art training at the Harris School of Art in Franklin, Tennessee, and then later at the Portfolio Center in Atlanta, Georgia, has illustrated both children's and adult historical fiction for the past 14 years. His first children's book, King of the Stable, was awarded the Gold Medallion from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 1999. Let Them Play is his first picture book with Sleeping Bear Press. Though a native of Louisiana, Chris currently resides in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, along with wife Lesley and young son Henry. |
Cannon Street All Stars at the Little League World Series Williamsport, PA - 1955 Coach Ben Singleton encouraging the team in the dorm at Williamsport, PA - 1955 | Book Awards 2006 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People List 2006 CCBC Choices 2006 – Historical People, Places and Events Category Cooperative Children's Book Center of the University of Wisconsin, School of Education 2006 Skipping Stones Magazine Honor Award Multicultural and International Awareness category 2006 Independent Publisher's Ten Outstanding Books of the Year List – Honorable Mention in the Most Inspirational to Youth Category 2006 Carter G. Woodson Book Award – Elementary Level 2007 Storytelling Award winner – Pre-Adolescent Category |
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| Carter G. Woodson Book Award and Honor Winners
National Council for the Social Studies established the Carter G. Woodson Book Awards for the most distinguished social science books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. First presented in 1974, this award is intended to “encourage the writing, publishing, and dissemination of outstanding social studies books for young readers that treat topics related to ethnic minorities and race relations sensitively and accurately.” Books relating to ethnic minorities and the authors of such books rarely receive the recognition they merit from professional organizations. By sponsoring the Carter G. Woodson Awards, the National Council for the Social Studies gives wide recognition to and directly stimulates authors and publishers. 2006 Elementary Level Award Winner
Let Them Play by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by Chris Ellison
(Sleeping Bear Press, Chelsea, MI) |
Stories recall struggles of blacks
Author: FRAN HAWK; Special to The Post and Courier 'Let Them Play" by Margot Theis Raven is a book for readers to celebrate every month, especially Black History Month. This true story is compelling for children everywhere, but especially in Charleston where some of the events took place. Raven recounts the hopes and disappointments of the Cannon Street All-Stars, an all-black Little League team in 1955. Prejudice doomed these talented, enthusiastic boys to misery and unfair treatment. The story is compelling even in outline, but Raven raises it to a literary art form. Her first sentence proves my point: "Most folks say it was Coach Ben Singleton who pulled the all-star dreams from the sky over Harmon Field and sprinkled them in the eyes of 14 boys the summer of 1955." And: "... That summer, like blue crabs tucked deep in the mud banks of Charleston's marsh creeks, parents, neighbors and coaches tried to keep the dark troubles and deep worries of the times from the Westside boys who just wanted to play baseball." The illustrations by Chris Ellison are also works of art that beautifully augment the story. Even kindergartners will understand the gist of this book, but I recommend it for first-graders and beyond. "This School is Not White - A True Story of the Civil Rights Movement" by Doreen Rappaport is another new and wonderful book documenting the struggles of blacks. On Sept. 3, 1965, Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter put their seven children on the bus to attend the formerly all-white school in Drew, Miss. The children were going "off to war in a shiny yellow school bus ... armed only with love." The parents endured gunfire, loss of home and jobs and death threats. For five years, the children endured "angry faces and raised fists and the spitballs at their heads and the kicking at their heels ... name-calling and mocking laughter. ... Ignoring it, but never getting used to it." This is a story of ignorance and prejudice. It's also a story of incredible determination and the love and strength of a family. The book closes with "The Carter Family History" that shows all eight children graduated from high school, seven graduated from college and two earned advanced degrees. Again, kindergartners would grasp the basics, but first grade would be a good place to start with this book. Children of all colors need to hear these stories and reflect on the correlations between prejudice and peace. For both, it works to think globally and act locally. Reach Fran Hawk at franbooks@yahoo.com. |
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PENNSYLVANIA TEAM HEADS FOR LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES WITH POLICE ESCORT AFTER ITS REGIONAL WIN. |
THE PENNSYLVANIA TEAM (top right) THAT WON THE 1955 LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES WHEN THE ALL-BLACK CANNON STREET TEAM WASN'T ALLOWED TO PLAY DUE TO RACE. HOWEVER, THE IRONY CAN BE SEEN IN THE TOP RIGHT PHOTO. THE WINNING TEAM WASN'T ALL-WHITE! ONE MEMBER OF THE TEAM WAS BLACK. | | 
Get into the sporting mood
Author: Lee Littlewood Copley News Service; "Let Them Play" by Margot Theis Raven; illustrated by Chris Ellison; Sleeping Bear Press; 32 pages Set in segregated South Carolina during America's early civil rights history, Raven's gorgeous picture book is the story of an all-black boys' team on the road to the 1955 Little League World Series. Young readers will be amazed at the level of adult prejudice shown by the white teams who pulled out of the tournament rather than play against the Cannon Street All-Stars. They'll also identify with and pull for the young boys, whose baseball prowess definitely earned them a spot to strut their stuff. Happily, the team was invited as guests - because of the boycott. Unhappily, they were not allowed to officially play - though they do warm up on the field, as the crowd of 5,000 chants "Let them play!" over and over again. A heartwarming look at the determination and resiliency of a group of children, "Let Them Play" is a keeper. Copyright 2005 Copley News Service |
 PLACE THIS IN EVERY SCHOOL, August 11, 2005 As a white man born only one year before this travesty of "sportsmanship" took place I cannot begin to tell people how important it is that this story be told not just to my generation who grew up in the begiinings of the civil rights, no the HUMAN rights, movements, but even more important, to the children of today. What could easily become an "oh poor us" story is not. It is a story of a wonderful bunch of kids who just wanted to play. "Let Them Play" is something you won't soon forget. Read it, give one to a kid and put one in a school library!
| Let Them Play, February 16, 2009 Margot Theis Raven hit a home run with this book. This is a true story about the 1955 Little League Tournament. Raven does an excellent job depicting how segregated the game was back then. Every child should read this book or have this book read to them so they can understand what discrimination is and how it makes people feel. This book reminds us how far we have come as a country and we should be greatful to live with the freedoms we have in today's society. |
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FALL BRINGS A TREASURY OF NEW PICTURE BOOKS FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES Author: KIM BOATMAN, Mercury News I coached a Little League team this spring that counted off warm-up exercises in at least five languages, because it was fun to celebrate our diversity. We were of Chinese, Indian, Korean, Latino, Dutch and assorted European heritage. We counted a girl among our number and a woman (myself) as our head coach. Looking at our team picture after reading ''Let Them Play'' is a measure of how far we traveled and of how important it is to remember the journey. Author Margot Theis Raven documents a small but significant slice of civil rights history, when racist white adults pulled their Little League teams rather than face a team of black all-stars from South Carolina. The Cannon Street All-Stars earned a spot in the 1955 Little League World Series because of the boycott by the whites but were allowed to attend solely as spectators because they hadn't won a tournament to get there. Raven tells the story simply and well. Chris Ellison's subtle details lend realism: A mother in a maid's uniform leans on a white porch railing watching a young boy, wearing jeans and a clean white T-shirt, batting with a simple stick. The catcher uses only his hands. The Cannon Street team wears the baggy flannel uniforms of the day. The YMCA coaches meeting around a desk wear the short-sleeve dress shirts emblematic of the '50s South. Particularly poignant is the painting at book's end of a group of older men carrying a 1955 South Carolina State Champions banner. As Raven explains, the team was invited back to the 2002 Little League World Series, where Norman Robinson, a catcher on the '55 team, borrowed a bat and launched a pitch over the fence. |
"Margot Theis Raven's stirring story recounts an episode from history that underscores the unfairness and injustice of racism, and illuminates the joy of triumph and change."
--CCBC Choices 2006 March 2006 Let them Play
It was the summer of 1955 and many of the boys living in Charleston’s Upper Westside dreamed of being able to play in the Cannon Street Baseball Little League. This league was special because it was the only Little League that was all black. Of course Cannon Street teams could not play the other Little League teams because white and black teams were not supposed to play one another. In that time white and black people lived “separate but equal” lives. There was a feeling of unrest in the air though, a feeling that change had to come soon, and that this division between black and white could not last forever.
It was decided that an all-star team would be formed which would then, it was hoped, go to compete against the other Little League all-star teams. Why, if they won the regional tournament in Rome, Georgia, the Cannon Street All-Stars might even end up in the Little League World Series.
Soon the whole community was working towards this goal. The boys trained and played, the parents raised money, and they all hoped. Then the families heard that the state Little League director was not going to allow the Cannon Street All-Stars to play against white teams. He made such a fuss that the All-Stars where soon “the team nobody would play.” Coach Benjamin “Sink” Singleton wasn’t ready to give up quite yet though.
This bitter sweet account of the trials and hopes of a baseball team which was not allowed to play in a segregated America is sure to touch the hearts of readers and give them a real sense of how deep the deprivations of racism went. It is hard to imagine today that there was a time when a group of boys were not allowed to play baseball because of the color of their skin. Though this was not a battle that the Cannon Street All-Stars were able to win, they did manage to convince the crowds at the Little League World Series that they were a team which deserved to play.
Beautifully written, this is a picture book full of poignancy. It gives the reader a sense of history and a deeper understanding of what it was like to be the victim of racism. It also captures the love that many did and still do have for baseball, that quintessential American game. |
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