Ron's Big Mission

Ron's Big Mission

Written by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden
Illustrated by Don Tate

Title: Ron's Big Mission

Author: Rose Blue was a teacher for the Headstart program in New York City. She was also a writer who started her writing career writing young adult fiction stories. After pairing with Corrine J. Naden, Rose began writing nonfiction and biographies. She has also written scripts and song lyrics. Rose passed away in 2005.

Author: Corinne J. Naden was raised in Park Ridge, New Jersey. She attended college at New York University. Corinne is an editor, journalist, and children's book author. She currently lives in Westchester, New York.

Don Tate

Illustrator: Don Tate was raised in Des Moines, Iowa. Don recieved his college degree from Des Moines Area Community College. He is an author and illustrator of children's books. He has written over 40 books for children and has won many awards for his books. He has also been published in newspapers and features as a speaker at numerous literary festivals. Don currently lives in Austin, Texas and works for the Austin American Statesman. He lives with his wife and one son. http://dontate.com/

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade Level: Early Elementary

Pictures from Ron's Big Mission

Synopsis: Ron's Big Mission follows nine year old Ron McNair who lives in South Carolina during the 1950's. Ron loves going to the library to look at books about flight but he cannot check them out to take home because he is African American. Ron decides that it is not fair that he cannot take the books home so one day he decides to try and check the books out himself. The clerk at the library ignores Ron at first and then refuses to check out the books for him. Two policemen come into the library to clam Ron down, but he will not leave until he can check out the books. Ron's mother comes to take him home and this is when he tells everyone how unfair it is that he cannot take the books home with him. After Ron is done talking the librarian goes to the back office and comes out with a library card with Ron's name on it. From that day on Ron could check out all the books he wanted without any problems.

Based on a Real Event: Ron's Big Mission is based on an event that happened in Ron McNair's life. This story is a fictionalized account of that day in the library. Ron thought all people should be allowed the same privileges and took a stand in the library. He reached a few people that day when he spoke of equality and fairness. From that day on anyone who entered that library could get a library card to check out a book. The Lake City Public Library is now dedicated to Astronaut Ron McNair.

Dr. Ron McNair

Dr. Ron McNair: Ron was born on October 21, 1950 in Lake City, South Carolina. Ron received a doctor of philosophy in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976. He thought it was very important for people to explore space and was selected as an astronaut candidate. After completing his training Ron's first mission was on STS 41-B which launched on February 3, 1984. The mission was a success and Ron was assigned another mission in 1986. On January 28, 1986 Ron was on STS 51-L Space Shuttle Challenger. Forty-five seconds after Challenger was launched the space shuttle exploded killing all of the astronauts aboard. Ron left behind his wife Cheryl and their two children. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mcnair.html

Theme: A few themes that can be connected to this story are equal rights, the civil rights movement, libraries, and space travel/ flight.

Recognition: A Spring 2009 Junior Library Guild selection.

Pre-reading Activity: Discuss what a library is and why people might go there. Be sure to include that the library has books, movies, magazines, and other items that card carrying members can check out to take home with them.

Post-reading Activity: If possible plan a field trip to the local library (the school library could work if a field trip is not allowed). Ask the librarian to give the students a tour of the library. Have the students ask the librarian ask questions that they prepared before going to the library. With parent permission have the students sign up to receive a local library card and help them check out one book to take home.

Assessment:The students will be assessed on their behavior and participation at the library. Field trip rules will have been stated multiple times before and during the trip. All students are expected to follow the rules and be on their best behavior.

Personal Reflection: Ron's Big Mission is a touching story and it is hard not to connect with little Ron McNair. The authors did a great job at making Ron powerful and still relateable. I truly enjoyed reading this book and could see myself using it in an elementary classroom. Ron is very inspirational and can teach children to take a stand for what they believe is right. This book could be used during a civil rights unit, a study on astronauts, or even for learning about libraries. This book is very well done and would be a benefit to any library.