It all began the day Ms. Laverne told six students to pick up their bookbags and follow her. She led them to the old art room and told them they would be meeting there every Friday from 2:00-3:00 to talk. No adults allowed.
Four boys and two girls - all some shade of brown except for one - christened the room the ARTT room - "A Room to Talk" and communication began.
Ms. Laverne explained that she wanted the students to express themselves and learn what it means to "harbor" one another. Esteban was the first to share. He told of his father being taken from work and put in a detention center in Florida. He was to be deported, and Esteban fears he will never see him again.
Haley, fondly called Red by the kids in the ARTT room, decides to record their conversations. She has a feeling that important things will be shared and she wants to create a historical record. Once the students learn to trust one another all barriers come down, and they closeness they feel in the room begins to spread beyond it.
Author Jacqueline Woodson uses the conversations of these six young souls to tell us all that communication and sharing could be the answer to understanding each other better and making the world a kinder place. As the children's stories unfold, readers will hopefully feel a part of the ARTT room and carry some of what they learn out into the world and their own lives.
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