Dear Parents and Teachers The History Files series takes readers into significant eras in United States history allowing them to walk in the shoes of characters living in the periods they’ve learned about in the classroom From the journey to a new beginning on the Mayflower to the strife of the Vietnam War and beyond each title in this series delves into the experiences of diverse characters struggling with the conflicts of their time Each book includes a comprehensive summary of the era along with background information on the real people that the fictional characters mention or encounter in the novel Additional websites to visit and an interview with the author are also included In addition each title is supplemented with online teacher parent notes with ideas for incorporating the book into a lesson plan These notes include subject matter background information inspiration for maker space activities comprehension questions and additional online resources Notes are available at www RourkeEducationalMedia com We hope you enjoy the History Files books as much as we do Happy reading Rourke Educational Media 3
Table of Contents Candy and Complaints 6 Big Doings in Greensboro 15 Dad’s News and Slamming Doors 26 Goodbye Boston 37 New House Strange Vibes 48 After-School Drama 60 An Unbelievable Opportunity 71 The Ultimate Milkshake 81 5
Chapter One Candy and Complaints Brrrring Brrrring As the final bell of the day blared through the Charles Taylor High School Amari Johnson jumped You jump every day Amari You’d think you’d just seen a ghost her best friend Jackie teased I know It’s crazy isn’t it I’ve been at this school since September and I’m still like a jumping bean Amari grabbed her stack of books and notebooks and headed down the hall to her locker She filled her leather school bag with all the things she needed for the night’s homework Then she and Jackie headed into the chilly January air Walking down Morton Street Amari and Jackie had their favorite blowing-off-steam after-school routines They always spied on the boys playing handball at the court in 6
Dorchester Park Amari tried to stifle a giggle when she saw Marcus Coleman on the court She’d had a crush on him since the fifth grade when he moved to Mattapan from Virginia She loved his accent the way he seemed to linger over every syllable with that southern drawl And when Marcus played Mack the Knife on his acoustic guitar in last year’s talent show she was completely won over Cute and talented some people had it all After they passed the court the girls stopped in at Parker’s Corner Store Good afternoon girls Are you here for a candy run Mr Parker the elderly shop owner winked at Amari and Jackie They used their allowance and babysitting money to buy a treat nearly every day after school Yes sir Amari got a few Necco Mint Julep taffies and a pack of Red Vines licorice Jackie went with her favorite treat the sweet and chewy Bit-O-Honey bar Digging nickels and dimes from their change purses the girls 7
