"My Journey" books
These are choose-your-own adventure books written from a first person perspective. Just for ease, I'm going to always pick the first option when I come them, but I'll try to mention the other possible endings. Since the reader is meant to insert herself into the story, the main character (a modern-day pre-teen) isn't named. Since it would sound to weird to me to summarize the story as, "and then (Historical Characters) and I saw a..." I've been using the author's first name, and since I "borrowed" Erin Falligant's name more recently, I'll use Denise.
Plot
Denise is at piano practice, feeling uninspired. But when her teacher has her play "Lift Every Voice and Sing" the song makes her nostalgic for her recently deceased grandmother. As she plays, Denise feels more caught up in the music than she ever has before. When the song is finished, Denise is shocked to see she's in a church building rather than her piano instructor's home. A girl her age is there, awed by Denise's song. She introduces herself as Melody, and says that if Denise doesn't mind, Melody will go upstairs to get her grandmother, who would love to hear the song. Melody also mentions the Civil Rights march advertised on a poster as being last summer, meaning Denise is in 1964. Denise obliges, and performing the song again transports her back to piano lessons. The second Denise gets home, she takes the sheet music to her own piano--she can't wait to get back to Melody's time. Once there, Melody thinks Denise is waiting for the Student March to Freedom Club, which her sister Yvonne leads, while Melody's grandmother assumes Denise is part of the traveling youth choir visiting the church.
First choice: agree with Melody's grandmother or with Melody
Denise follows Melody's grandmother, Mrs. Porter, up the stairs only to find out that the tour bus already left. It will be back in a few days, though. Melody suggests that Denise stay in town, and Mrs. Porter agrees to open her home to her. At Mrs. Porter's, Denise is impressed by a beautiful upright piano, and Mrs. Porter hands her some more inspirational music. Melody sings along while Denise plays. Melody's older brother Dwayne happens by, and joins the concert. Denise is soon awestruck when she learns he's a Motown singer, and that Melody has sung backup vocals for him. Real professional singers! Dwayne invites the girls to a recording session, but they had already made plans to accompany Mrs. Porter to a concert hall for a gospel music performance.
Next choice: stick with the original plan or go to the recording session
While the recording session would be amazing, Denise keeps thinking of her own grandmother and how much Mrs. Porter reminds her of the woman she misses so much. After dinner with Melody's grandparents, who both invite Denise to call them by the names their grandchildren use (Big Momma and Poppa), they head for the performance hall. The concert is every bit as awe-inspiring as the recording session might have been, especially with their seats so close to the stage (Poppa claimed to be "too tired" to attend the concert, letting Denise have his ticket). But when the last notes fade, the owners of the venue mention something about this being their last concert--the building is due to be demolished for urban renewal. The owners live there; they'll have to move in with their daughter for the time being. Denise thinks that her father, a congressman, could surely help...then remembers she's about fifty years in the past. But maybe she can do something. She stays up most of the night thinking about the issue, as does Melody (who also spends the night at her grandparents'). In the morning, Big Momma suggests that the girls could go with Melody's aunt and uncle to Windsor, Ontario for the Emancipation Day celebration.
Next choice: try to help the concert venue's owners or go to Windsor
Reasoning that they won't feel right celebrating when there are immediate problems at home, Denise and Melody decline the trip. They go to Melody's house, where her older sister Yvonne has an idea. She says the protest group she heads can encircle the building, preventing its demolition. Mrs. Ellison is worried that such a spur-of-the-moment protest will be too dangerous, especially when the opposition has bulldozers.
Next choice: do the demonstration or think of another way to be heard
When Yvonne takes the girls to the building the next morning, they join a large crowd of protesters. Several police officers are on hand, warning them that standing in the way of city business could get them arrested (some officers look reluctant to do so, and are clearly hoping for a peaceful resolution). Sure enough, Yvonne and some teenagers are eventually led to a police van. Melody rushes toward her sister, and she and Denise are separated. It's all too much for Denise. She finds someone who can get a message to Melody (she'd already told Melody she was going home after the protest) and slips inside the building to play the song on the piano that remains inside. When she's back in the present, she rushes to her mother, who happens to be her school's principal and had mentioned that the music program would suffer due to budget cuts. Denise tells her that music is worth fighting for, and they can't just give up. They have to take a stand and try.
Denise is at piano practice, feeling uninspired. But when her teacher has her play "Lift Every Voice and Sing" the song makes her nostalgic for her recently deceased grandmother. As she plays, Denise feels more caught up in the music than she ever has before. When the song is finished, Denise is shocked to see she's in a church building rather than her piano instructor's home. A girl her age is there, awed by Denise's song. She introduces herself as Melody, and says that if Denise doesn't mind, Melody will go upstairs to get her grandmother, who would love to hear the song. Melody also mentions the Civil Rights march advertised on a poster as being last summer, meaning Denise is in 1964. Denise obliges, and performing the song again transports her back to piano lessons. The second Denise gets home, she takes the sheet music to her own piano--she can't wait to get back to Melody's time. Once there, Melody thinks Denise is waiting for the Student March to Freedom Club, which her sister Yvonne leads, while Melody's grandmother assumes Denise is part of the traveling youth choir visiting the church.
First choice: agree with Melody's grandmother or with Melody
Denise follows Melody's grandmother, Mrs. Porter, up the stairs only to find out that the tour bus already left. It will be back in a few days, though. Melody suggests that Denise stay in town, and Mrs. Porter agrees to open her home to her. At Mrs. Porter's, Denise is impressed by a beautiful upright piano, and Mrs. Porter hands her some more inspirational music. Melody sings along while Denise plays. Melody's older brother Dwayne happens by, and joins the concert. Denise is soon awestruck when she learns he's a Motown singer, and that Melody has sung backup vocals for him. Real professional singers! Dwayne invites the girls to a recording session, but they had already made plans to accompany Mrs. Porter to a concert hall for a gospel music performance.
Next choice: stick with the original plan or go to the recording session
While the recording session would be amazing, Denise keeps thinking of her own grandmother and how much Mrs. Porter reminds her of the woman she misses so much. After dinner with Melody's grandparents, who both invite Denise to call them by the names their grandchildren use (Big Momma and Poppa), they head for the performance hall. The concert is every bit as awe-inspiring as the recording session might have been, especially with their seats so close to the stage (Poppa claimed to be "too tired" to attend the concert, letting Denise have his ticket). But when the last notes fade, the owners of the venue mention something about this being their last concert--the building is due to be demolished for urban renewal. The owners live there; they'll have to move in with their daughter for the time being. Denise thinks that her father, a congressman, could surely help...then remembers she's about fifty years in the past. But maybe she can do something. She stays up most of the night thinking about the issue, as does Melody (who also spends the night at her grandparents'). In the morning, Big Momma suggests that the girls could go with Melody's aunt and uncle to Windsor, Ontario for the Emancipation Day celebration.
Next choice: try to help the concert venue's owners or go to Windsor
Reasoning that they won't feel right celebrating when there are immediate problems at home, Denise and Melody decline the trip. They go to Melody's house, where her older sister Yvonne has an idea. She says the protest group she heads can encircle the building, preventing its demolition. Mrs. Ellison is worried that such a spur-of-the-moment protest will be too dangerous, especially when the opposition has bulldozers.
Next choice: do the demonstration or think of another way to be heard
When Yvonne takes the girls to the building the next morning, they join a large crowd of protesters. Several police officers are on hand, warning them that standing in the way of city business could get them arrested (some officers look reluctant to do so, and are clearly hoping for a peaceful resolution). Sure enough, Yvonne and some teenagers are eventually led to a police van. Melody rushes toward her sister, and she and Denise are separated. It's all too much for Denise. She finds someone who can get a message to Melody (she'd already told Melody she was going home after the protest) and slips inside the building to play the song on the piano that remains inside. When she's back in the present, she rushes to her mother, who happens to be her school's principal and had mentioned that the music program would suffer due to budget cuts. Denise tells her that music is worth fighting for, and they can't just give up. They have to take a stand and try.
About Melody’s Time
Nearly everyone knows about high-profile Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr, but he and others were bolstered by the support of ordinary citizens. Even young children joined the cause: six-year-old Ruby Bridges was the first black student to attend a white school in the South, and despite death threats, didn't miss a single day of first grade. Nine-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks attended a Civil Rights event in Birmingham and consequently spent a week in jail. She was one of several hundred children at the "Children's Crusade" who marched because their parents faced backlash from the racist employers.
Misc
Dedicated to "Mark, who understands the power of music."
The keys on the Porters' piano are more yellow than white. I think the 1964 keys are ivory; a lot of older pianos used ivory.
Assuming Denise goes back in time to the same month and Windsor's Emancipation Day celebration is around the same time now as it was in 1964, this story mostly takes place in early August.
Some of the endings are online-only. So, these aren't good books to take anywhere without an internet connection.
Some other possible endings: Denise can meet Rosa Parks who encourages her to speak out in order to get more books by African-American authors in the library; seeing how Melody's friends and family never give up or give in as they strive for equality inspires Denise to speak out against even small injustices; it can also push Denise to want to improve her city by working with her politician father; making new friends and working together to a greater goal can help Denise feel less shy back in her own time; seeing Melody's brother pulled over for "driving while black" can make Denise think about role models and how it's more important to emulate people's good character rather than their fame; organizing a fundraiser in 1964 gives Denise the idea to do the same to help the struggling music program at school; attending the celebration in Canada can show Denise that she can trust herself; or that even though physical buildings like the concert venue might not last, the intangible things that Civil Rights workers are striving for can last forever if they're cherished;
The keys on the Porters' piano are more yellow than white. I think the 1964 keys are ivory; a lot of older pianos used ivory.
Assuming Denise goes back in time to the same month and Windsor's Emancipation Day celebration is around the same time now as it was in 1964, this story mostly takes place in early August.
Some of the endings are online-only. So, these aren't good books to take anywhere without an internet connection.
Some other possible endings: Denise can meet Rosa Parks who encourages her to speak out in order to get more books by African-American authors in the library; seeing how Melody's friends and family never give up or give in as they strive for equality inspires Denise to speak out against even small injustices; it can also push Denise to want to improve her city by working with her politician father; making new friends and working together to a greater goal can help Denise feel less shy back in her own time; seeing Melody's brother pulled over for "driving while black" can make Denise think about role models and how it's more important to emulate people's good character rather than their fame; organizing a fundraiser in 1964 gives Denise the idea to do the same to help the struggling music program at school; attending the celebration in Canada can show Denise that she can trust herself; or that even though physical buildings like the concert venue might not last, the intangible things that Civil Rights workers are striving for can last forever if they're cherished;
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