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The Red Rose Box
When Leah's aunt Olivia sends her a red rose box all the way from California for her tenth birthday, she and her younger sister Ruth can hardly imagine what could be inside. Living in dusty Sulphur, Louisiana, the arrival of the box, full of magical things-lipstick, nailpolish, and a 100% silk bedjacket-is about the most exciting thing that has ever happened to Leah and Ruth.
Aunt Olivia has also sent some train tickets for a trip to Los Angeles and freedom, far away from the Jim Crow laws that keep the Southern blacks down. Leah is enchanted by her rich aunt's lifestyle and the California culture. Like the treasures in the box, California is almost too good to be true. But when tragedy forces Leah and Ruth to make Los Angeles their permanent home, the girls are torn by longing for their roots.
Brenda Woods has written an evocative first novel about the importance of remembering your past, even as you move away from it.
Aunt Olivia has also sent some train tickets for a trip to Los Angeles and freedom, far away from the Jim Crow laws that keep the Southern blacks down. Leah is enchanted by her rich aunt's lifestyle and the California culture. Like the treasures in the box, California is almost too good to be true. But when tragedy forces Leah and Ruth to make Los Angeles their permanent home, the girls are torn by longing for their roots.
Brenda Woods has written an evocative first novel about the importance of remembering your past, even as you move away from it.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Brenda Woods
24 books73 followersBrenda Woods was born in Ohio, grew up in Southern California, and attended California State University, Northridge. Her award-winning books for young readers include The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond (a CCBC choice and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book); the Coretta Scott King Honor winner The Red Rose Box; the ALAN Pick Saint Louis Armstrong Beach; and VOYA Top Shelf Fiction selection Emako Blue. Woods’s numerous awards and honors include the Judy Lopez Memorial Book Award, the FOCAL International Award, and the ILA Children’s Choice Young Adult Fiction Award. She lives in the Los Angeles area.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
February 11, 2019
Leah Jane Hopper turns ten and gets a beautiful red rose box in the mail from her Aunt Olivia. There is a letter inside for her mother and tickets to go visit the aunt and her husband in California. Leah immediately sees the freedom available in California when contrasted with her home in Sulphur, Louisiana. It's the difference from one side of the Mason Dixon Line to the other -- the wide net cast by the Jim Crow South. This is a bittersweet tale that will take your breath away at times. It is a treasure and I highly recommend it.
October 11, 2017
In 1958 Sulphur Springs, Louisiana Leah Jean Hooper dreams of being a teacher but everyone she knows thinks she's destined to be a cotton picker (the author uses the word "pickaninny"). When Leah's mysterious Aunt Olivia in the far off Los Angeles, California sends a red rose traveling box for Leah's 10th birthday filled with luxurious garments, nail polish, lipstick and bath scent, Leah believes anything is possible. Her little sister Ruth also receives a traveling case for her 9th birthday along with an invitation for the girls and their family to visit Aunt Olivia in LA. California is practically another planet away and a completely different world for Leah. LA is freedom. Freedom from harassment by white folks, freedom to drink out of any water fountain, freedom from the segregation she's known her whole life. It also means freedom to wear new clothes or luxuriate in a bubble bath just because. Life in Sulphur Springs will never be the same. Then the unthinkable happens and tragedy strikes Leah's hometown and her life changes forever. Suddenly LA doesn't feel like freedom anymore. It feels stifling and Leah longs to feel the dirt under her feet once again or lapse into the colloquial speech patterns of rural Louisiana without anyone judging her. Caught between two world, this is a young woman's coming of age during the Jim Crow era.
This book is outstanding for a debut novel. It's not for young readers, at least not without their parents reading it first. The author doesn't shy away from using racial language including THE word. Her characters speak in dialect and the story depicts the experience of two African-American girls growing up in the Jim Crow south. The story is told from Leah's point-of-view which is a bit stream of conscious at times. Brown Vs. Board, the groundbreak Supreme Court ruling on school segregation is mentioned but doesn't affect the main characters.
The voices of the characters feel very authentic. I liked the way they spoke in dialect though it took me a little while to get into it. The descriptions of dirt roads and cotton fields feel so real and it's easy to imagine Leah and Ruth's life there. Los Angeles is described quite so lovingly. It's big, it's chaotic in places, there's a lot to do, many wealthy people and lots of rules. There's a minor love story that I could do without.
I didn't really care for Leah or Ruth. I did root for Leah to become a teacher like she has always dreamed. I can't imagine being so beaten down as so to tell my peer she won't accomplish her dreams and to stop trying to "get above herself." This mindset was shocking and made me want to root for Leah even more. Leah is a girl on the verge of womanhood and she doesn't really know who she is yet. I admire how she sticks to her dream no matter what. I hope she becomes a teacher and returns to Sulphur Springs to inspire the next generation the way her teacher inspired her. I did not like Ruth. Her sassy mouth would have gotten her in big trouble some day. She has a fresh comment for everything but her disposition is sunny. I liked the bond the two sisters share.
The two girls have more in common with Mrs. Pittman, Aunt Olivia's maid, than with their own Aunt. Olivia is glamorous, modern and wealthy. She doesn't really understand young girls though she has a kind heart. If I were Mama I would have taken away the contents of Leah's new suitcase. That was too precocious of a gift for a 10 year old child. Olivia should have sent those things to her sister and her mother, not her nieces. Olivia is very generous though and tries hard so I liked her. Her husband is kind too and knows what it's like to have a dream of lifting oneself above poverty. Mrs. Pittman can sass right back to Ruth and shut the girl down without resorting to discipline. They speak the same language and Mrs. Pittman is sympathetic and understanding of the girls' feelings.
I rated this 4 stars because I think the ending is too rushed. This book is a must-add to school libraries across the country.
This book is outstanding for a debut novel. It's not for young readers, at least not without their parents reading it first. The author doesn't shy away from using racial language including THE word. Her characters speak in dialect and the story depicts the experience of two African-American girls growing up in the Jim Crow south. The story is told from Leah's point-of-view which is a bit stream of conscious at times. Brown Vs. Board, the groundbreak Supreme Court ruling on school segregation is mentioned but doesn't affect the main characters.
The voices of the characters feel very authentic. I liked the way they spoke in dialect though it took me a little while to get into it. The descriptions of dirt roads and cotton fields feel so real and it's easy to imagine Leah and Ruth's life there. Los Angeles is described quite so lovingly. It's big, it's chaotic in places, there's a lot to do, many wealthy people and lots of rules. There's a minor love story that I could do without.
I didn't really care for Leah or Ruth. I did root for Leah to become a teacher like she has always dreamed. I can't imagine being so beaten down as so to tell my peer she won't accomplish her dreams and to stop trying to "get above herself." This mindset was shocking and made me want to root for Leah even more. Leah is a girl on the verge of womanhood and she doesn't really know who she is yet. I admire how she sticks to her dream no matter what. I hope she becomes a teacher and returns to Sulphur Springs to inspire the next generation the way her teacher inspired her. I did not like Ruth. Her sassy mouth would have gotten her in big trouble some day. She has a fresh comment for everything but her disposition is sunny. I liked the bond the two sisters share.
The two girls have more in common with Mrs. Pittman, Aunt Olivia's maid, than with their own Aunt. Olivia is glamorous, modern and wealthy. She doesn't really understand young girls though she has a kind heart. If I were Mama I would have taken away the contents of Leah's new suitcase. That was too precocious of a gift for a 10 year old child. Olivia should have sent those things to her sister and her mother, not her nieces. Olivia is very generous though and tries hard so I liked her. Her husband is kind too and knows what it's like to have a dream of lifting oneself above poverty. Mrs. Pittman can sass right back to Ruth and shut the girl down without resorting to discipline. They speak the same language and Mrs. Pittman is sympathetic and understanding of the girls' feelings.
I rated this 4 stars because I think the ending is too rushed. This book is a must-add to school libraries across the country.
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February 4, 2019The book, The Red Rose Box by Brenda Woods. The book was about these two sisters named Leah and Ruth Hopper. They lived in Sulphur, Louisiana. One day for Leah’s birthday, her aunt Olivia who lives in Los Angeles, gave Leah A red rose box. It wasn’t normal to see that beautiful of a gift because Leah and her family lived in the south where there was the Jim Crow laws. After she received the box things changed and Leah’s Life would never be the same. Something tragic happened so Leah and Ruth had to live with their aunt Olivia in California. The sisters didn’t know if they would ever fit in and that California will ever feel like home.
I really liked this book because it went back in time where there wasn’t freedom for certain colors and I wasn’t alive to ever connect or feel the way people felt back then. One quote that stood out to me in the book was, “ Someone splashed water on me and I looked around at the faces of colored boys and girls who had probably never tasted possum meat, whose fingertips had never been bloodied by the cotton plant, who had never been spit at or told to go to the back door, who were accustomed to looking white people in the eye, and I wished that Ruth was there. Ruth understood. More than these boys and girls ever could.” It stood out to me because Leah felt alone because that’s when she moved with her aunt and she didn’t think anyone understood her. I really liked this book and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
I really liked this book because it went back in time where there wasn’t freedom for certain colors and I wasn’t alive to ever connect or feel the way people felt back then. One quote that stood out to me in the book was, “ Someone splashed water on me and I looked around at the faces of colored boys and girls who had probably never tasted possum meat, whose fingertips had never been bloodied by the cotton plant, who had never been spit at or told to go to the back door, who were accustomed to looking white people in the eye, and I wished that Ruth was there. Ruth understood. More than these boys and girls ever could.” It stood out to me because Leah felt alone because that’s when she moved with her aunt and she didn’t think anyone understood her. I really liked this book and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
December 18, 2021
The Red Rose Box is a period piece from one of my favorite times to read about (African Americans in the 1940s, 50s and 60s). This is a story of family, forgiveness, love, loss, support, and hope. These characters feel like the people I grew up knowing. The writing is perfect for the 10-12 age range to be introduced to things like Jim Crow segregation, lynchings and the like without being too graphic. I love all the time period references of books, movies, black celebrities, etc.
*A Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book
*A Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book
February 23, 2015
The Red Rose Box is a moving story about two sisters growing up in Jim Crow Era Louisiana, circa 1953. Leah, the older sister, receives a fancy red rose box from her Aunt Olivia in California for her birthday. The box contains all kinds of beautiful things that Leah has never seen before and train tickets for her family to travel west for a visit. Leah, her younger sister Ruth, their mother and grandmother board a segregated train car in New Orleans and set out to visit Aunt Olivia and her husband. As Leah puts it, "Three days later we were in Los Angeles. I was never going to be the same."
Leah's world, once so small, suddenly opens up to the possibilities of racial integration and freedom that she had never before known. She is amazed to find that drinking fountains, restaurants, movie theaters and department stores do not bear the "Whites Only" or "Colored Only" signs that followed her everywhere she went in Louisiana. Her aunt and uncle, upper middle class real-estate brokers, live in a home far more splendid than anything she has ever seen. They are college educated and hold professional jobs, unlike her parents who are forced to work as a domestic and field hand in order to cobble together a living for their family.
After the visit, Leah is torn between two worlds, between the harsh-but-comforting-familiarity of her southern home and the desire to escape it altogether and follow her dreams of becoming a teacher. The book is beautifully written - Leah's honest perspective about the events she experiences are woven together using wonderful imagery. She juxtaposes walking around the city in new-but-uncomfortable shoes with walking barefoot in the mud and grass of home. She sees her aunt and uncle become involved with their local chapter of the NAACP and hears them discussing the recent landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education. For the first time, she envisions a life in which black and white students attend school together, even in the south.
This book is a great piece of historical fiction for young readers. It examines the very beginnings of the civil rights movement and explores themes of racism and family dynamics in a deeply personal way, through the eyes of a preteen girl. I felt a palpable sense of fear as Leah, Ruth and two local boys are harangued by a truck of white boys hurling insults at them as they walked along the road. I envisioned the wide-eyed wonder they felt as they visited the northern cities of Los Angeles and New York for the first time and experienced life outside of Jim Crow. I felt the comfort that Leah felt in having her sister - her best friend - beside her on her journey that does at one point take a turn for the tragic. This book was riveting from start to finish and the only reason I give it four stars instead of five is that I feel like it ended too abruptly - I wanted it to keep going.
Leah's world, once so small, suddenly opens up to the possibilities of racial integration and freedom that she had never before known. She is amazed to find that drinking fountains, restaurants, movie theaters and department stores do not bear the "Whites Only" or "Colored Only" signs that followed her everywhere she went in Louisiana. Her aunt and uncle, upper middle class real-estate brokers, live in a home far more splendid than anything she has ever seen. They are college educated and hold professional jobs, unlike her parents who are forced to work as a domestic and field hand in order to cobble together a living for their family.
After the visit, Leah is torn between two worlds, between the harsh-but-comforting-familiarity of her southern home and the desire to escape it altogether and follow her dreams of becoming a teacher. The book is beautifully written - Leah's honest perspective about the events she experiences are woven together using wonderful imagery. She juxtaposes walking around the city in new-but-uncomfortable shoes with walking barefoot in the mud and grass of home. She sees her aunt and uncle become involved with their local chapter of the NAACP and hears them discussing the recent landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education. For the first time, she envisions a life in which black and white students attend school together, even in the south.
This book is a great piece of historical fiction for young readers. It examines the very beginnings of the civil rights movement and explores themes of racism and family dynamics in a deeply personal way, through the eyes of a preteen girl. I felt a palpable sense of fear as Leah, Ruth and two local boys are harangued by a truck of white boys hurling insults at them as they walked along the road. I envisioned the wide-eyed wonder they felt as they visited the northern cities of Los Angeles and New York for the first time and experienced life outside of Jim Crow. I felt the comfort that Leah felt in having her sister - her best friend - beside her on her journey that does at one point take a turn for the tragic. This book was riveting from start to finish and the only reason I give it four stars instead of five is that I feel like it ended too abruptly - I wanted it to keep going.
June 7, 2009
It was June 1953; Leah Hopper was turning 10.The Red Rose Box takes place in Sulphur, Louisiana during the Civil Rights Movement. Leah and Ruth Hopper,sisters, are caught between two worlds when tragedy strikes Sulphur, Louisiana.
With the red rose box, filled with femininity, in hand the two colored girls are forced to leave Jim Crow laws and move to Los Angeles where freedom rings.
No more cotton fields and possum dinner, no more washing “whites” clothes. In this new world all people come together.
With sadness in their hearts they are forced to come to terms with the changing world around them.
Woods was born in Cincinnati Ohio and moved to Los Angeles when she was six. People often thought she was weird. One day Woods picked up a note book and pen and has been writing ever since
“I really enjoyed reading this book, since it is where I live now. Woods truly captured the south in this wonderful read. Plus my birthday is in June.”
Intended for ages 9 and up.
Coretta Scott King Honor 2003
September 1, 2008
sooo sad, but it does have a lot of funny parts too
May 7, 2011
This is such an amazing book. Out of the books I've read, this is decently in the top 2. It is a very emotional book, talking about racism and poverty. But I love it so much!
July 14, 2022
The Red Rose Box is a coming of age story initially set in the Jim Crow South. Leah and her sister Ruth live a simple but happy life in Sulphur with their parents and grandmother. The world begins to open up for Leah when she and the women in her family take a trip to Los Angeles to visit her Aunt Olivia. Leah soon begins to yearn for "freedom" and allows herself to dream of a life outside of the segregated South. A life altering event occurs causing Leah and Ruth to start anew with Aunt Olivia and her husband Bill in California. Throughout the story Leah and her sister grow up and grow closer, begin adjusting to a life they'd never imagined for themselves and learn to cope with heartache and loss along the way.
January 10, 2026
This is such a good book. I remember getting this book when I was in elementary school 11 years ago. It was on the free shelf, and on the inside cover someone had written “ discard” on it. I believe I had read it once and on my bookshelf it went. Fast forward to me in college finding this book in storage, and re-reading it. I’m so glad I did. Although it’s a fiction book, it’s important to remind younger generations of the brutality that African Americans faced and still face today. Leah and Ruth grew up facing unfair Jim Crow laws in this book. Reading this book gave me a new perspective through a child’s eyes on the historical events that occurred. Whether you’re in elementary school or college, I think this book is a good read.
November 29, 2017
The Red Rose Box is a historical fiction book that I would most definitely want in my classroom. I enjoyed reading from the perspective of two young African American girls growing up in the 50's south with Jim Crow laws. Despite the setting of this book, it was different from your typical HF novel written in this time frame and I enjoyed this. Leah and her sister Ruth experience life outside of their usual world and the thoughts and experiences that come with it are as exciting and thought-provoking to the reader as they are to the characters. I would most certainly recommend this book to readers as young as 9 or 10.
October 24, 2017
This really highlighted for me what it must be like for minority children dealing with racist whites. Horrible! I liked that Leah Jean, the protagonist compared life in LA where people had so much to her life in Louisiana where people had nothing and realized that money isn't everything. It didn't seem fully believable, but it was interesting. She missed her parents terribly but was able to love her aunt and uncle and to appreciate the housekeeper, Mrs. Pittman. I want to recommend this to kids of 10-12 to read.
May 16, 2021
I got this book as a Christmas gift from my Mother.
This story is about Leah Hopper who lives in Sulphur, Louisiana. She is given a box on her 10th birthday by her Aunt Olivia. Aunt Olivia lives freely in Los Angelos. Mama decides to take her on her first trip out of Louisiana. And Leah and her sister Ruth find themselves far away from the segregation and Jim Crow of Louisiana. They have a luxurious vacation there, until Mama goes home to leave her children in the care of Aunt Olivia for two weeks. Disaster strikes back at Louisiana leaving Leah and Ruth in the permanent care of Aunt Olivia.
So, what did I think. For 136 pages, this book is remarkably well-written. The description of California as “freedom” just resonates as perfect for a black girl during segregation. Leah’s growth into a woman from the moment she gets the red rose box to when her mother perishes in the hurricane ox excruciatingly well-done. And as a former young girl myself, I think it is perfection.
This story is about Leah Hopper who lives in Sulphur, Louisiana. She is given a box on her 10th birthday by her Aunt Olivia. Aunt Olivia lives freely in Los Angelos. Mama decides to take her on her first trip out of Louisiana. And Leah and her sister Ruth find themselves far away from the segregation and Jim Crow of Louisiana. They have a luxurious vacation there, until Mama goes home to leave her children in the care of Aunt Olivia for two weeks. Disaster strikes back at Louisiana leaving Leah and Ruth in the permanent care of Aunt Olivia.
So, what did I think. For 136 pages, this book is remarkably well-written. The description of California as “freedom” just resonates as perfect for a black girl during segregation. Leah’s growth into a woman from the moment she gets the red rose box to when her mother perishes in the hurricane ox excruciatingly well-done. And as a former young girl myself, I think it is perfection.
January 23, 2020
I loved the characters and the whole storyline. But I feel like the main character didn't change or develop their character. When I read the synopsis I felt so excited to read the book then I read the book and it was different than I expected.
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March 15, 2023I've read this from the time I was younger than Leah to well beyond 10 years old. I loved it. I still love it and I still think about it as a 26 year old woman. It shaped who I became. I definitely recommend this book to readers of all ages.
March 10, 2018
What a perfect little book!
November 4, 2018
Great book
It was heart warming and funny at the same time. I loved this story so much. It was a great book
It was heart warming and funny at the same time. I loved this story so much. It was a great book
September 26, 2021
The Italian title is “Vorrei essere libera”
January 17, 2023
Jim Crow era Louisiana, circa 1953. 1950s settings always get me.
September 29, 2013
The Red Rose Box was written by Brenda Woods. This contemporary realistic fiction book is intended to be read by intermediate and advanced age groups. This particular book won several awards and honors. In 2003, The Red Rose Box won the Coretta Scott King Honor, Pen Center USA Finalist, and the Judy Lopez Memorial Award. In 2005, the book won the FOCAL Award. I rated this book as a five.
The Red Rose Box is about two little African American sisters who grew up in the South during segregation. During two separate visits with their rich Aunt, their final visit becomes a permanent stay in California. This book is about transitioning from a life of poor to rich, segregated to freedom, and what it really means to a twelve year old.
The plot reveals an emotional transition for a twelve year old girl, Leah, as she is placed into her Aunt’s care. When you are born and raised in your home, you know this as your home. However, once you step outside of this comfort zone, then you are given a chance to compare and contrast your home environment to the outside world. Leah begins to understand that Jim Crow laws and segregation shouldn’t exist. The characters are used in a way to display hardworking Southern people. Leah’s grandmother and mother cook a big country meal for her birthday, instead of providing gifts. The parents taught Leah and her sister, Ruth, values of love, home, and family. The rich Aunt Olivia and her husband, Bill, lovingly take the children in after a hurricane tragic that took their parent’s lives. However, Leah begins to understand that materialistic items will never replace the love and loss of her parents. As for the language, the book is written in Southern drawl. As Leah begins to sample some of Aunt Olivia’s rich world, Leah begins to recognize the language differences and starts to correct her sister’s wording. The red rose box, a birthday gift to Leah from Aunt Olivia, becomes a private, personal storage box. No matter how beautiful and expensive the box cost, Leah realizes that she can storage her most cherished items for future reflection.
As for the book itself, there are no illustrations in this paperback version. The cover design has bright and intense colors with rainbow shading. The picture is two African American sisters, dressed in Sunday best clothing, waiting with their luggage and the red rose box. The rainbow shading provides a positive feeling that these two little girls are going to experience a happier time in their lives. The back cover continues the rainbow shading with two illustrations: a rose and a train. A brief summary of the book is provided for the reader.
Overall, The Red Rose Box is an excellent story of values of love, family, and home. Even though, segregation was unjustified in this time period, Leah shows the reader that home is where your heart feels the most comfort. A rich lifestyle can provide clothes, a better education, and in Leah’s case, freedom; however, Leah recognizes that she would rather spend her time back with her parents and their simple life. This book provides history of segregation, one-room school houses, and simple living. During Black History Month, a history teacher could use this book as a learning tool for younger readers.
The Red Rose Box is about two little African American sisters who grew up in the South during segregation. During two separate visits with their rich Aunt, their final visit becomes a permanent stay in California. This book is about transitioning from a life of poor to rich, segregated to freedom, and what it really means to a twelve year old.
The plot reveals an emotional transition for a twelve year old girl, Leah, as she is placed into her Aunt’s care. When you are born and raised in your home, you know this as your home. However, once you step outside of this comfort zone, then you are given a chance to compare and contrast your home environment to the outside world. Leah begins to understand that Jim Crow laws and segregation shouldn’t exist. The characters are used in a way to display hardworking Southern people. Leah’s grandmother and mother cook a big country meal for her birthday, instead of providing gifts. The parents taught Leah and her sister, Ruth, values of love, home, and family. The rich Aunt Olivia and her husband, Bill, lovingly take the children in after a hurricane tragic that took their parent’s lives. However, Leah begins to understand that materialistic items will never replace the love and loss of her parents. As for the language, the book is written in Southern drawl. As Leah begins to sample some of Aunt Olivia’s rich world, Leah begins to recognize the language differences and starts to correct her sister’s wording. The red rose box, a birthday gift to Leah from Aunt Olivia, becomes a private, personal storage box. No matter how beautiful and expensive the box cost, Leah realizes that she can storage her most cherished items for future reflection.
As for the book itself, there are no illustrations in this paperback version. The cover design has bright and intense colors with rainbow shading. The picture is two African American sisters, dressed in Sunday best clothing, waiting with their luggage and the red rose box. The rainbow shading provides a positive feeling that these two little girls are going to experience a happier time in their lives. The back cover continues the rainbow shading with two illustrations: a rose and a train. A brief summary of the book is provided for the reader.
Overall, The Red Rose Box is an excellent story of values of love, family, and home. Even though, segregation was unjustified in this time period, Leah shows the reader that home is where your heart feels the most comfort. A rich lifestyle can provide clothes, a better education, and in Leah’s case, freedom; however, Leah recognizes that she would rather spend her time back with her parents and their simple life. This book provides history of segregation, one-room school houses, and simple living. During Black History Month, a history teacher could use this book as a learning tool for younger readers.
January 8, 2014
oh, my heart.
This book was, I think, very near flawless. I am incapable of pinpointing what exactly endears it to me so, but I simply cannot stop re-reading it. I found this in my school library, checked it out, and repeated the cycle about eight times in one year. It's a coming-of-age tale but not just that - there is history, and everything - the conversations, the trivia - is inextricably linked to the larger plot.
The focus of the 'red-rose-box' marks a turning point in both Leah and Ruth's life. More Leah's, though, because it seems as if Ruth is simply hanging on for the ride (and oh, what a ride). The arrival of the box turns Leah into a woman in her own eyes and there are so many small details woven into the story (the feel of the silk on her skin, anecdotes in relation to Mardi Gras parades) that the story came alive for me.
The blatant racism was rendered in a blunt and yet cutting manner. And the thing is, though Leah does wonder about the injustice of it all, she simply shrugs it off! And I, as a reader not having experienced this, feel a sharp pang of pain as too why she is so desensitized to it all. Leah's experience of Los Angeles, too, shows her how flawed her perception of the world is. She is rather like a small child in that aspect - realising that her small world is in no way indicative of the larger universe. And though she did know that in LA there was a palpable lack of race-based harassment, she perceived it pre-box as if in a fishbowl. LA existed, but it was blurry and not quite real in that sense.
The hurricane was difficult for me to read through. Her pain is real and when she honestly notes that she would have given up all the luxury of LA just to be in her mother's arms and to hear her father once more, it was like a mirror held up to my life. At the risk of sounding trite, it did show me how little I value my family. I have yet to act on this realisation, though.
And Young Love. It deserves a capitalisation. That Leah falls for a person of colour is a reminder that she is capable of triumphing her emotional hurt. Resilience, if you will. And I think that she likes him because of his qualities and not because he is not white.
In summation: Maybe my favourite book, because it has themes and morals and words and everything is vivid. Sometimes it can hurt, but it doesn't. Read it.
This book was, I think, very near flawless. I am incapable of pinpointing what exactly endears it to me so, but I simply cannot stop re-reading it. I found this in my school library, checked it out, and repeated the cycle about eight times in one year. It's a coming-of-age tale but not just that - there is history, and everything - the conversations, the trivia - is inextricably linked to the larger plot.
The focus of the 'red-rose-box' marks a turning point in both Leah and Ruth's life. More Leah's, though, because it seems as if Ruth is simply hanging on for the ride (and oh, what a ride). The arrival of the box turns Leah into a woman in her own eyes and there are so many small details woven into the story (the feel of the silk on her skin, anecdotes in relation to Mardi Gras parades) that the story came alive for me.
The blatant racism was rendered in a blunt and yet cutting manner. And the thing is, though Leah does wonder about the injustice of it all, she simply shrugs it off! And I, as a reader not having experienced this, feel a sharp pang of pain as too why she is so desensitized to it all. Leah's experience of Los Angeles, too, shows her how flawed her perception of the world is. She is rather like a small child in that aspect - realising that her small world is in no way indicative of the larger universe. And though she did know that in LA there was a palpable lack of race-based harassment, she perceived it pre-box as if in a fishbowl. LA existed, but it was blurry and not quite real in that sense.
The hurricane was difficult for me to read through. Her pain is real and when she honestly notes that she would have given up all the luxury of LA just to be in her mother's arms and to hear her father once more, it was like a mirror held up to my life. At the risk of sounding trite, it did show me how little I value my family. I have yet to act on this realisation, though.
And Young Love. It deserves a capitalisation. That Leah falls for a person of colour is a reminder that she is capable of triumphing her emotional hurt. Resilience, if you will. And I think that she likes him because of his qualities and not because he is not white.
In summation: Maybe my favourite book, because it has themes and morals and words and everything is vivid. Sometimes it can hurt, but it doesn't. Read it.
September 4, 2014
*for the sake of this review I have chosen to be extremely politically incorrect and call this girl black. Yes, I understand that she is African American and I pinky promise not to do it again*
I must have read this book 5 times, at least.
That's how good it is.
This book was my first introduction into a more emotional, tragedy based genre, books such as TFIOS, If I Stay, Out of My Mind, or Thirteen Reasons Why (all highly recommended, by the way).
Leah thinks differently from any other girl you have ever encountered. For one, it's 1958. For another, she's a black girl living in a white power based community.
Her aunt is the sweetest woman, as well as her husband, and her extremely naive sister makes for several "teaching moments" for Leah, in which she must take responsibility to be the teacher and try and figure our how they must survive at the peak of tragedy in their lives.
There's also some unprecedented struggle at having to adjust to a community where blacks are welcomed. Part of being "back home" for Leah is being oriented around whites rather than being oriented with whites. When Leah doesn't want to let go of what else she has at home, I understand that it's hard to let go of that, too.
I've read what some may consider more "mature" books, so I'll put this recommendation more on the 12/13 yr. old scale, but today, with 12 yr. olds reading even crazier, more mature themed books, go ahead and hand it to your eight year old.
Go ahead.
(And make sure to get them a library card, too.)
I must have read this book 5 times, at least.
That's how good it is.
This book was my first introduction into a more emotional, tragedy based genre, books such as TFIOS, If I Stay, Out of My Mind, or Thirteen Reasons Why (all highly recommended, by the way).
Leah thinks differently from any other girl you have ever encountered. For one, it's 1958. For another, she's a black girl living in a white power based community.
Her aunt is the sweetest woman, as well as her husband, and her extremely naive sister makes for several "teaching moments" for Leah, in which she must take responsibility to be the teacher and try and figure our how they must survive at the peak of tragedy in their lives.
There's also some unprecedented struggle at having to adjust to a community where blacks are welcomed. Part of being "back home" for Leah is being oriented around whites rather than being oriented with whites. When Leah doesn't want to let go of what else she has at home, I understand that it's hard to let go of that, too.
I've read what some may consider more "mature" books, so I'll put this recommendation more on the 12/13 yr. old scale, but today, with 12 yr. olds reading even crazier, more mature themed books, go ahead and hand it to your eight year old.
Go ahead.
(And make sure to get them a library card, too.)
November 28, 2013
The Red Rose Box
This book it's just different I have never read anything like it it just jumps to the good parts and thats what I like about it. Its about Leah Hopper gets a very special gift from her aunt named Olivia. The gift was very nice case covered in red roses her aunt that had sent it said that this box was her femininity. Although Leah did not know what that had meant so she had to ask her grandmother. Inside the beautiful traveling case were other luxurious gifts that her aunt Olivia had sent all the way from Los Angeles One thing that was very special very a couple of train tickets to where aunt Olivia was living although Leah didn't know what her mom was going to do with the tickets she acted very subtle about the situation, but when her mom had said that they were going she was very excited because this was her first time to Los Angeles. I cannot continue because it will ruin surprises for people who will read the book.
The age group or audience I would recommend this book to is very easy to say because it was a very easy book I could understand most of the words it was just the situations I got confused with but I got the main idea the people I would recommend this book to would be some smart seventh graders all eight graders and again some ninth graders. Overall I enjoyed this book and if you were to read it I think that you would enjoy this book as well.
This book it's just different I have never read anything like it it just jumps to the good parts and thats what I like about it. Its about Leah Hopper gets a very special gift from her aunt named Olivia. The gift was very nice case covered in red roses her aunt that had sent it said that this box was her femininity. Although Leah did not know what that had meant so she had to ask her grandmother. Inside the beautiful traveling case were other luxurious gifts that her aunt Olivia had sent all the way from Los Angeles One thing that was very special very a couple of train tickets to where aunt Olivia was living although Leah didn't know what her mom was going to do with the tickets she acted very subtle about the situation, but when her mom had said that they were going she was very excited because this was her first time to Los Angeles. I cannot continue because it will ruin surprises for people who will read the book.
The age group or audience I would recommend this book to is very easy to say because it was a very easy book I could understand most of the words it was just the situations I got confused with but I got the main idea the people I would recommend this book to would be some smart seventh graders all eight graders and again some ninth graders. Overall I enjoyed this book and if you were to read it I think that you would enjoy this book as well.
September 19, 2012
The Red Rose Box is about a young girl name Leah Jean who lives in Sulphur, Louisiana in 1953. On her tenth birthday her Aunt Olivia, who lived in Los Angeles, California, sent her a red rose box that included a lock and key. Inside this red rose box, a suitcase, were satin slippers, silk robe, fashion jewelry, and other items that were not seen in the south, especially for young girls like Leah. Inside this box was also a letter to Leah's mother. The letter included four train tickets to California and an apology, later Leah finds out that her mother no longer talks to her sister anymore over a man and vows that a man would never come between her and her sister. Leah's mother accepted the train tickets to California and her, Leah, Ruth, and Gramma all went to the free state of California. While in California Ruth and Leah were able to experience how it felt to not live under the Jim Crow laws. Aunt Olivia was very well off, her and her husband, and lived in a very nice house and even had a maid. The girls were able to receive whatever they like and wanted and enjoyed every moment of it. After returning back to Louisiana Leah could not help but tell people about here experiences.
May 24, 2008
The Red Rose Box is a story about two African American sisters who end up having to move from rural and segregated Louisiana to Los Angeles. Leah Hopper and her sister Ruth take us on a journey of discrimination, loss, friendship, forgiveness, and dreams. Even though this is a fictional story, many people in our not too distant past had to deal with the discrimination, Jim Crow Laws, and lynchings that are talked about in this book. One day while having a conversation with her Aunt Olivia, Leah asks a rhetorical question about white people. Why they gotta be afraid of us? They are the ones ridin horses at midnight, wearing hoods, hangin people from trees, spittin at us while we walk down the road like we don t have no souls. Real people had to live through real situations similar to the ones described in this book, and may have even had thoughts similar to Leah s. This story should be read by children of all races to learn about the evils of discrimination and how people can overcome the worst of situations.
May 1, 2015
This book is a contemporary realistic fiction book. Coretta Scott King Honor, Pen Center USA Finalist, Judy Lopez Memorial Award, and the FOCAL Award 2005 were awarded to this book. This book is about two sister living during the Jim Crow Era. During the story the older sister gets a box from their aunt and the box is a beautiful red rose box. Inside the box amongst everything their aunt sent the girls see tickets to go California. After the visit the oldest sister is torn between being in Louisiana were she decimated for her skin and California were she feels free. I gave this book five stars because the cover caught my attention instantly. Also I gave this book five stars because the book feels very realist and seems like it actually came from the perspective of someone living during the Jim Crow Era and was suffering.
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July 11, 2011The Red Rose Box is set in the year of 1953. Leah is turning ten years old, and receives a present of a red rose box full of many items that Leah has not had the opportunity to see. She receives nail polish, lipstick, slippers, and jewelry. This present comes from her aunt, along with a letter to Leah’s mother. This letter warrants a trip to Los Angeles to visit their aunt. Leah experiences life without segregation when visiting Los Angeles and does not want to return home. With devastating events that happen, the family comes to realize that they should cherish the life they had. Intermediate children will learn some about segregation in the south and will be able to form a connection with the characters due to how real they seem.
November 14, 2012
As soon as I started this book I couldn’t put it down. This would be the perfect week-long book for forth and fifth graders. Some historical subjects mentioned in The Red Rose Box are segregation, Jim Crow laws, NAACP, the Mason-Dixon Line, and voting. As a future teacher I would talk about the language used in the book before having a class read it. Terminology used to negatively label African- Americans is throughout the chapter book and should be further discussed. Brenda Woods has a smooth way of writing, everything flowed together just right. Children reading this can find themselves relating to the book if they have a younger sibling, have a crush on someone, traveled by themselves, have lost their parents, or have ‘old school’grandmothers.
February 11, 2016
Interesting contrast between rural southern Louisiana and Southern California during the early 1950s. Leah and Ruth are two sisters experiencing a quickly changing world. They move from Louisiana, where they live with their mom, dad, and grandma to California to live with their aunt and uncle when disaster strikes Sulphur, LA. It is time for the Hopper girls to learn about love, loss, and creating a new home.
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