BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Jurmain, Suzanne. 2005. The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 9780618473021

PLOT SUMMARY:

The Forbidden Schoolhouse is the captivating story of Prudence Crandall, a well-educated woman from Canterbury Connecticut. She opened a school in 1831 to educate African American girls. The story chronicles her obstacles and the violent opposition from the community towards her efforts. The African American students came from neighboring states, which created a stir of opposition in what was once a peaceful community. Miss Crandall had made her mind up that she wanted to give these young girls the opportunity to advance themselves. Prudence Crandall was a brave and courageous woman for her time. She aggressively sought help and support from people near and far who believed as she did in equal education.

At one point, Miss Crandall had seventeen students boarding at the school. The students were serious about their education and were excelling in their studies. The members of the community were determined not to have “black” girls going to school in their town and fought to shut the school down. Prudence Crandall was steadfast in her determination and even went to jail and court to fight for the rights of these girls to receive an education.

Finally, after someone set fire to the school Prudence decided it was time to end the two year battle and closed her school. The book gives a brief description of Prudence Crandall’s life after she left Canterbury and the many issues she was engaged in to the very end of her long life.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The cover photograph of this book is most inviting. It is a sepia tinted photograph of the original schoolhouse that Prudence Crandall opened in 1831. It is softly muted on the edges with bold shadows of trees playing across the face of the schoolhouse. There is something eerily intriguing about this photo that invites the reader to pick the book up and look inside. From there the reading goes quickly. It is a captivating story with more original photos and reproductions of newspapers from the early 1800’s. The text is 120 pages, not including epilogue, appendix and notes. Of particular interest is part one of the appendix that lists the students who attended the school and where they came from and in some cases, what they went on to do with their lives.

The Forbidden Schoolhouse received the following awards:

2006 ALA Notable Book for Children
2006 Orbis Pictus Honor Book
2006 Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
2005 Booklist Editors’ Choice
2006 ALA Best Book for Young Adults
2005 Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books — Blue Ribbon Winner
2006 Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts
2008 Arizona Young Readers’ Master List

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

Starred review in Booklist: “Jurmain has plucked an almost forgotten incident from history and has shaped a compelling, highly readable book around it.”

Horn Book: “Fascinating photographs and images…and endnotes provide insight into the lives of the students, Crandall, and her supporters.”

CONNECTIONS:

• For other books about African American women and education during the nineteenth-century try:

Bolden, Tonya. Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl. ISBN: 9780810950450

Kendrick, Stephen, and Paul Kendrick. Sarah’s Long Walk: How the Free Blacks of Boston and Their Struggle for Equality Changed America. ISBN: 9780807050187

• Also of interest, poems about Prudence Crandall’s students:

Alexander, Elizabeth, and Marilyn Nelson. Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color. ISBN: 9781590784563