Stella covered her brother’s lips with her fingers to quiet him. You’d still be ’sleep if I hadn’t come and got you. 'It was me that saw ’em first! he protested. Stella yanked the boy close, dry leaves crunching beneath his bare feet. Dressed only in nightshirts, Stella Mills and her brother Jojo shivered in the midnight October chill. Two children, crouched behind the low-hanging branches of a hulking oak tree on the other side of the pond, watched the flickers of scarlet in the distance in fearful silence. Reflections of peppery-red flames shimmered across the otherwise dark surface of Kilkenny Pond. Against the black of night, a single wooden cross blazed. It might be interesting to pair the 'Flying African' passage with the picture book Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. This needs to be shared with families and classrooms and provides many jumping off points for discussions on racism, voting rights, and community values. The power of words is also shown as Stella struggles to put her thoughts on paper with a typewriter given to her by a neighbor. Stories as a cultural touchstone is a primary theme and adds both humor and emotional depth.In particular, the teacher's retelling of a 'Flying African' folktale is exquisitely touching. What stands out is the humanity of the characters as Draper avoids easy stereotypes. While not as gut-wrenching as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor, this book also illuminates many of the problems of the Jim Crow South.

Stella's family and the other African-American families in town are alarmed that the Klan is resuming activities and struggle to keep their children safe. She also witnessed activities by the KKK while out walking at night. She has trouble in school, she dislikes doing chores, and she is trying to find her identity.

Stella is character all kids can relate to. And she learns that ashes don’t necessarily signify an end. As Stella’s community-her world-is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they’re never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn’t bothered them for years. Stella lives in the segregated South-in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Draper presents “storytelling at its finest” ( School Library Journal, starred review) in this New York Times bestselling Depression-era novel about a young girl who must learn to be brave in the face of violent prejudice when the Ku Klux Klan reappears in her segregated southern town.

Sharon m draper stella by starlight