The sidewalk story is a great encouraging story. Lilly Etta is a very fighting person. This is a great book. You should read this book.

The book, a Teacup Full of Roses, was basically talking about a black strong family who was struggling but worked very hard to get what they wanted. The mother, Mattie cared a lot about her son, Paul who does drugs. David, the youngest brother was very smart and Joe was very determined and hard working. Aunt Lou always talked about death and the father always watched tv or read a newspaper. My favorite character was Joe because he was so determined to do what he had to do. A Teacup Full of Roses was a book based on family. The main characters in te book were the Mom, Dad, Joe, Davey, Paul and his girlfriend.

A teacup full of roses was such a wonderful book.I enjoyed its so much. The character I liked the most was Joe. He seemed to be the strongest person out of the family even though he did'nt believe he was going to graduate he seemed like he worked very hard to try to graduate. The family was going through alot of problems . Paul was on drugs ; the father acted like he did'nt wanted to be apart of the family. Aunt lou always talked about death. The mother worked very hard to try to keep the family together. I encourage others to read it because a family problems teacup full of roses would be a good book for every one.

The book A Teacup full of Roses was basically talking about a black strong family who was struggling but worked very hard to get what they wanted. The mother,Mattie cared a lot about her son, Paul who does drugs. David, the youngest brother was very determined and hard working. The Aunt, Lou always talked about death and the father always watched Tv or read a newspaper. My favorite character was Joe because he was so determined to do what he had to do. A Teacup full of Roses was a book based on family. The main characters in the book were the Mom, Dad, Joe, Davey, Paul and his girlfriend.

This is a good book for a young girl to read when she is getting ready for an upcoming athletic event (especially a race). It is accompanied with excellent photos of famous black track athletes and diary entries that a young girl might place in a personal scrap book as she becomes increasingly interested in track and field. It exposes all of the thrill, self doubt, fear and other emotions that a young athlete might feel as a race day approaches and in this regard is wonderful for any kid to read (it makes them feel more normal). However, one passage, claiming that black women were once replaced on teams by white women that they could clearly beat, raised questions from my daughter (who is white and 9). Although it is possible that this claim is true, it is the first I had heard about it. Either way, parents who buy this book for their children had better be ready to provide some historical perspective on sports and race.

This book was a reading for my 3rd grade daughter. I have no idea how or why this book EVER won an award, unless it was for being the most boring yet deppressing book ever written. And the illustrations were just as sad.

The Hundred Penny Box tells the story of young Michael and his Great-Great Aunt Dew.
Aunt Dew moved in with Michael and his family so that they could assist with her care
because her failing health made it impossible for her to stay in her home alone. Aunt
Dew is 100 years old and as proof she has a box, which she calls the "Hundred Penny Box"
which contains her collection of 100 pennies. The pennies in her collection represent
the years she has lived, and each birthday she adds a newly minted penny to her
collection. Michael and Aunt Dew play a special game where he counts the pennies while
she interjects memories about what was going on in her life during a that particular
year. Aunt Dew has told her nephew many times that if someone were to take her Hundred
Penny Box they would be taking her life. Because Michael's mother often makes decisions
without discussing them with Aunt Dew the two women do not have the closest of
relationships. When one of Michael's mother's decisions puts the Hundred Penny Box in
danger, what will Michael do to protect it?

While the illustrations in this book clearly reflect the abilities of the Dillon team
they seemed to miss the mark in this book. I felt the artwork took away from the story
considerably and overall it gave a heartwarming story an eerie vibe. Still this is an
enjoyable story about a special intergenerational friendship and love.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay...

The story of Michael and his great-great aunt Dew felt very real to us. We especially liked the part where they played the hundred-penny game together. We also liked the part where old Aunt Dew sings and dances to her favorite record. Dancing makes her feel younger and she forgets that she's a hundred years old. Michael loved Aunt Dew, and the author made us love her, too. Michael and Aunt Dew were very close. We thought that he understood her better than his mother did. We also liked the way that Michael stood up to his mother when she was about to throw away Aunt Dew's old box. We think that everyone should read this book because you can learn alot from it and you will enjoy it, like we did. Kids will understand their older family members better and may make them feel good and happy. [This review was composed and written by my fourth graders in Philadelphia)

Nothing happened the entire book. When something did happen it was so badly described that it seemed like nothing was happening. The characters were not thought out and were undeveloped. I would reccomend this book to anyone who wants to fall asleep.

This is a powerfully written book that treats the young heroine's blindness unsentimentally and believably as she deals with her father's violent death, her mother's drinking, an attempted sexual assault by an older neighbor and her budding relationship with a young man. This is a thoroughly outstanding treatment that will inform readers of any age about blindness, while treating the blindness as simply a fact of her life as she deals with the real and wrenching issues pulling at her. The love for her mother and the tension with her drinking are well handled, and the boy-girl aspect is also not over-romanticised. (Wish we had a sequel about them.

The contents of this book had a tremendous affect on my early years. I read this book at a very early age and I can recall being encouraged by it's contents. I would recommend that all young people being challenged with life read this book. The fact that she was blind was overshadowed by the true challenges in her life. Alcholism, abuse, death, etc..... Very powerful!