Song of the Trees

Logans #3

by Mildred D. Taylor

For use in schools and libraries only. During the Depression, a rural black family, deeply attached to the forest on their land, tries to save it from being cut down by an unscrupulous white man.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Childrens, African American, Historical

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Mildred DeLois Taylor is an African-American writer known for her works exploring the struggle faced by African-American families in the Deep South.

Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi, but lived there only a short amount of time, then moved to Toledo, Ohio, where she spent most of her childhood. She now lives in Colorado with her daughter.

Many of her works are based on stories of her family that she heard while growing up. She has stated that these anecdotes became very clear in her mind, and in fact, once she realized that adults talked about the past, "I began to visualize all the family who had once known the land, and I felt as if I knew them, too ..." Taylor has talked about how much history was in the stories; some stories took place during times of slavery and some post-slavery.

Taylor's most famous book is Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. In 1977, the book won the Newbery Medal. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is the middle book, chronologically, in the Logans series that also includes titles such as The Land, Song of the Trees, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, and The Road to Memphis. Her collective contributions to children's literature resulted in her being awarded the inaugural NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2003.

Reviews

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not realize that this was part of a series until after I finished this book, but it is good as a stand-alone as well. I am guessing that this would be a mid to late elementary school level chapter book. It is a story about a black family in Mississippi during the depression, and about what they must do to protect their land and their future in a place that they love, amongst those who would deprive them of what is theirs, in the name of superiority and entitlement.

[Skye Chanel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything this woman writes is captivating! I want to be her when I grow up!

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A very short story from Cassie's POV about how even when you have your own land, it's not really your own land if you're black in the South. This one is pretty straight forward. Cassie and her brothers were fun, and I liked how their dad solved the problem.

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this introduction to a family that loves their land and takes pride in family. I didn’t realize it’s the third in a series. The family tree in the front of the book should give me an idea of the connections to characters in the rest of the Logan family’s stories.

[Renn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book I read in this series is so bittersweet. I mourn the Logans’ losses and I celebrate their victories.

[Octavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awww...Book #3 has such a Heartfelt ending. 🧡

[Books Kids Like · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cassie Logan's family is the only black family to own land in their township of Mississippi. It's hard for the white people in the area to countenance the confidence this land gives the Logans. They aren't typical of other blacks, and they certainly don't act the way the whites want them to. For Cassie the trees mean home. They are alive, and she can often hear them sing. One day the trees stop singing, however. Times are hard, and Mr. Logan is away working on railroad construction. Big Ma (Cassie's grandmother) feels forced by necessity to sell some of the trees. The white man who makes the deal tries to swindle her by taking more trees than he pays for. Stacey, Cassie’s older brother, goes for Mr. Logan. When they return, Mr. Logan brings a black detonator box with him. The night they arrive home, they lay sticks of dynamite throughout the woods. Mr. Logan’s ploy drives the men off and saves the tree, but Cassie wonders if they will every sing again. With this simple story, Mildred Taylor began sharing her family’s stories- the stories told by her parents and grandparents.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a sparse, minimal story about a conflict in Mississippi during the Great Depression. In under 50 pages, it touches on issues of family, race, environmentalism, illness, and the Depression itself--which is quite an accomplishment for a relatively short picture-book for children! It's rather haunting.

My average rating is mostly because I didn't care for the illustrations. With better illustrations, I think this book would be quite something.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a definite one sitting read and I should have reviewed it right away rather than waiting two days. I read a copy with the Jerry Pinkney fabulous drawings. What a gift! Taylor's description really should be read by burgeoning readers and writers. I do love this cover by Kadir Nelson which puts the emphasis on Cassie.

[January · Rating 3 out of 5]

Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor
Logans #3[chronological] #1 [publication]
39m narrated by Allyson Johnson, 80 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction, African-American Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Family

Featuring: 1930s, The Great Depression, Family, Racism, Logging, Children

Rating as a movie: PG-13

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌳🌲🌲

My thoughts: This is the story that introduced readers to Cassie and the Logan Family, it's set the year before the events of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry as it was published the year before it as well. It was my first time experiencing it and it was okay. I didn't like the narration. It's a short story told by Cassie but centered around Little Man and the rest of the family.

Recommend to others: Yes, but it's not a necessity.

Logan Family Saga
1. Song of the Trees (1975)
2. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976)
3. Let the Circle Be Unbroken (1981)
4. The Gold Cadillac (1987)
5. The Friendship (1987)
6. Mississippi Bridge (1990)
7. The Road to Memphis (1990)
8. The Well (1995)
9. The Land (2001)
10. All the Days Past, All the Days to Come (2020)

Logans
1. The Land
2. The Well: David's Story
3. Song of the Trees
4. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
4.5 Mississippi Bridge
5. Let The Circle Be Unbroken
5.5 The Friendship
6. The Road to Memphis
7. The Gold Cadillac
8. All the Days Past, All the Days to Come

[La'shae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. It touched upon very adult topics like racism and illness. I would not recommend for this book to be in a lower level elementary classroom because of its maturity and length; however, it should definitely be considered for an upper level classroom. I especially liked this book because of its message

[Tamara the Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

VERY short book-- of all the books I have read by Taylor so far this was the least impressive. Plotline is simple and I found it not developed enough to really have the major impact emotionally-- characters also had no time to be developed. If this was my first Taylor read I would not be compelled to read more.

[Emily Yao · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book! We read it on class recently. It is a very touching story about family, love, kindness and courage. It's amazing how a story like this can be so interesting and full of emotions in one small book!

[Never Without a Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one ended so abruptly, but I still enjoyed it.

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since rereading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry a couple of years ago, I’ve been wanting to make my way through the rest of the Logan Family Saga. That’s taken longer to get around to than I originally intended, but I finally picked this one up the other day—and immediately regretted waiting so long to read it! It’s a very short, easy read, and drew me right back into Cassie’s world and her family’s struggle against racism and the world at large.

I particularly loved that this was based on a true story from Mildred Taylor’s father’s childhood, which brought a degree of realism to the story (not that it needed it; it all sounded pretty likely anyway!).

If you have appreciated other books in this series, or are interested in learning more about the things black families faced during the Depression years and beyond, I’d recommend you pick this story up.

[Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing The Well earlier this week, I expected to take a little break from the Logan series, but my kids really wanted to pick up Song of the Trees tonight. After we started, they wanted to read the whole thing tonight. Granted, this book is a short novella, really more like a chapter length from Roll of Thunder. But this short story has so much heart and love. We just love this family. They aren’t perfect, their flaws are there, but so is their strength and determination, their fierce love of each other and sense of justice. My five year old ended up stopping his activity to crawl into my lap and just listen to the ending. These books are so well written and compelling, stories that I’m so glad to experience alongside my kids.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked it up because it’s a prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (which I plan to read very soon)! It’s a bite sized story about the Logan family’s struggles during the Great Depression when loggers threaten their trees. What makes the Logan family particularly remarkable is that they own their property in Mississippi, which was extremely rare for Black families during this time due to systemic racism and economic barriers. I’m excited to the read the next one!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1975 this novella was the first introduction to the Logan family of Mississippi, although it would later become the third chronologically in the series. The story takes place during the Depression when the father is away from the family farm earning extra money, and a white man threatens the family into letting him chop down wood on their land for an insultingly low price. Cassie and her brothers are scared and her oldest brother secretly sets off to retrieve their father, and there is a showdown between Cassie's father and the white man. It was a sobering look at discrimination and what a black family had to endure during that era. This story had evocative illustrations by the esteemed Jerry Pinkney and while perfect for a middle school audience, can be enjoyed by all ages.

[ClaraBelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book on how a African American family defeated an a group of white men who sought to cut down their trees without their permission and with trickery!
Rating: 3 stars
Recommend: for those who want the truth about the South pre-Civil Rights era
Warning: an attempted kidnapping and sexual assault
Read: 5/26-28/20

[Annalise Kraines · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but compelling story of a family fighting to save their land and their trees, of black dignity and black resilience

[Shell (booksbythecup)]

Another lesson to learn, teach our kids how to love and conduct one self with dignity and respect even in the face of hatred.

[Christine (christines_booked) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novella featuring the beloved Logan family. Papa is away working on the railroad and some white men come to cut down all the trees in the forest on the Logan land. Some tense moments!

[Sonya · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was fine but hardly anything to it. It took me about 15 minutes to read the whole thing. After paying $7.99 to buy the kindle book on amazon that's pretty disappointing.

[Alison Lanter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am trying to read all the books in this series and started with the stand alone children’s book. It was simple, powerful, and pointed. Good for kids to understand challenges of being black in the south.

[Geena Kenemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

POOR TREES YEA PAPA

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book! I wish it was longer though.

[Tiauna Holley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a historical fiction book. This book holds a few awards such as the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award for Author Honor, First prize, Council on Interracial Books for Children, Outstanding Book of the Year Citation, The New York Times, and the Jane Addams Honors Citation. This book is about a family who seems loving, down to earth and lives with encouragement. With Cassie is in Mississippi her father is working in Louisianan to bring home money and medicine. There is a man who wants to buy the trees off of Cassie's family yard, but the question is with her father approve of the choice. I gave this book five stars because yet again this book seems like it’s a story that has happened to multiple families during the great depression where they could sell something just to get the money they need for their families. I also gave this book five stars because cover is conflicting there is a little girl hiding behind a tree from that I would think it was a story about a younger girl and her brothers playing or how they lived during the great depression. I wish there was more art work to go with the book besides just the cover.

[Jaybandz]

Big Ma && Her Family Is Going Threw A Hard Time Since Papa Is Away At Work trying Make Sum Money For His Family . Big Ma && Her Family Get Food From The Trees In The Forest Like Berries && All Kind Of Vegetables . So One Day There Is This White Men Named Mr. Anderson && He Want To Cut Down The Trees In The Forest && Mama Do Not Want Them To Cause She Know The Trees Mean Something To Her Kids.So Mr. Anderson Had Said If You Don't Want Me To Cut Down The Trees You Gone Have To Give Me 60 Dollars But Eventually Mr. Anderson && His Workers Cut Down The Trees Because She Did Not Have The Money Because Papa Wasn't Home && He Is The One Who Provide The Family With Money && At The Time They Did Not Have Any So Eventually The Trees Got Cut Down && Big Mama && Mama Told The Kids Do Not Go into The Forest && Eventually They Did && At The Time Before I Had Stop Reading They Were Getting Kicked && Dragged Out The Forest By One Of Mr. Anderson Workers && The Kids Were Fighting Them !

[Amanda Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is simpler (and shorter) than The Well but is told in the same unassumingly poetic prose, with the same deep feeling. When financial hardship worsens for the Logan family, nine-year-old Cassie discovers that Big Ma might be forced to sell the trees on their property to a white lumberman.

I'm slowly collecting all the Logan Family books, and every one I read is stirring and beautiful. The final paragraph of this one brings a bittersweet little story full circle and proves once more the author's skill. And I love the Logans. I love each of their hearts as they hold onto family and dignity, as the adults teach the children to respect themselves despite the racism around them that tries to undermine their self-respect. These books are deep, an important challenge for the middle-grade reader's mind and heart (and worthwhile for adults as well).

[John Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book “songs of the trees” talks about the indiscriminate development of environment. Cassie, main character, and her family are so poor that they always concern meals. Although she is in such environment, she becomes comfort with songs of the trees. However, white people who come from city try to cut off priceless trees to her with cost for the development. Finally, Mr. Anderson, one of white people, forces her grandmother to sell the trees while mentioning the harsh situation of the Cassie’s family and the disease Cassie’s mother has. It seems that Cassie will not let them to cut off the trees.

I think it is well written and easy to read. Although I had come to the U.S. 6 months ago, I totally understood what the book tries to say to readers