Bone by Bone by Bone

Bone by Bone by Bone, written by Tony Johnston, is a tale exploring the horrors of racism in the South during the 1950s. The young boy who narrates the book, David, lives with an oppressively racist father who wants nothing more than for his son to follow in his ideological footsteps. When befriends a black boy, Malcolm, his father forbids the boys from ever coming near the house, and puts a rule in place that Malcolm is specifically not allowed to enter their house. A rifle sits by the door of David's house so his father can shoot homeless cats that take refuge under the porch, and his father announces that if Malcolm enters the house he will be shot as well. The boys find ways to work around these rules, however, but with the constant fear that David's father will hurt Malcolm. Johnston specifically says in an introduction that her own father was the inspiration for this novel, and that his racism "haunts her." Although there are several points that allude to the possibility that something horrific is about to happen, this book remains appropriate for middle school students, and would ignite interesting and engaging moral discussions.