Toning the Sweep

by Angela Johnson

Overview

Angela Johnson's Coretta Scott King Award winning novel that traces three generations of African American women as they learn one another's truths.

Three generations of African American women, each holding on to a separate truth. Their story — encompassing racism and murder as well as the family commonplaces that make a life — is one that readers will never forget.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780590481427
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/1994
Series:	Point
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	180,243
Product dimensions:	4.19(w) x 6.75(h) x (d)
Lexile:	760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Angela Johnson was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, but raised in Windham, Ohio; the only girl in a family of five. She now lives in Northeastern Ohio in a 100-year-old house full of plants. When not writing, she travels. On one of her trips to the California desert, the inspiration for her first novel, Toning the Sweep, came about.

Editorial Reviews

PW , in a starred review, praised this ``thoughtfully nuanced and penetrating'' novel about three generations of women from an African American family who must cope with a beloved grandmother's illness. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 6-9-Before Emily's grandmother leaves her beloved desert home, possibly for the last time, the sensitive teen sets out to record the memories of the woman, her friends, and relatives on video. While documenting the reminiscences, she learns about her African American family's past and gains the strength to say good-bye. A powerful story about connections and coping. (Apr., 1993)

School Library Journal