Separate Fountains has been recommended by Tallahassee Mayor John Marks for the January reading list. To find out more, visit the website

Tallahassee, A City That Reads.

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The Book

   A firsthand look at a not-so-long ago era in American history by an author who lived its pages  ---  join Katie Jane Taylor and Ardella, the housekeeper, as together their families weather illness, hardship, and prejudice  ---  all in a town where blacks and whites don't mix. Walk down the red dirt road to town, have a banana split at the drugstore, overhear the Ku Klux Klan conspiring, and visit "Colored Town", the "Poor Folks Farm," and the "Goat Man." Empathize with these folks as they and the community see Katie Jane's brother, Josh, through his bout with polio before a vaccine was developed. Separate Fountains is the story of how one small-town Georgia family in the late 1940s and early 1950s met the challenges of life with love, faith, courage, and humor.

Reviews

"Patti Wilson Byars' Separate Fountains is in many ways a gift to society  ---  a gift of knowledge and insight into a slice of America's history. Based on her experiences of growing up in the deep South of the 1940s and 50s, Byars opens the window to her family's values  ---  opposing the Ku Klux Klan when it was unpopular to do so and treating African Americans with respect and dignity when it was dangerous to do so."

Diana Bogan

Reporter/Book Reviewer, Sarasota's Weekly Planet

"By turns moving and amusing, Separate Fountains tells the story of a sensitive girl's growing up in Jonesboro, Georgia in the aftermath of World War II and the prelude to the Civil Rights Movement. The story of Katie Jane's education in class and racial bigotry is history written from the heart."

Janet G. Burroway

Professor of English and Creative Writing, Florida State University

"Separate Fountains is similar to another young adult classic, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Both books explore racism in a small southern town. Both have a young girl as the main character who witnesses a morally strong father take a stand against hatred."

Betsy Spearing

Media Specialist, Leon County Public Library, Tallahassee

"Separate Fountains is a very well written book. The characterization is exceptional; it reminds me of Jem and Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee."

Cathy Hendley

Media Specialist, Bloomingdale High School, Tampa

"Separate Fountains is a realistic presentation of race relations between blacks and whites in the South in the 1940s and 1950s. I highly recommend the reading of Separate Fountains by all Americans to bring about an understanding of what life was like in the South prior to the Civil Rights Movement."

Dr. James N. Eaton Sr.

Professor of History, Founder and Director of the Black Archives Museum

Florida A&M University

"Separate Fountains is a 'can't put it down' book. The emotions, memories, and realistic social history is captivating. A publication that adults and youth; blacks, white and other races and ethnic groups will find educational and inspiring. It brings one to tears and give the reader something to ponder as the story presents a true picture of what it was like to be black -- or white -- growing up in the South in the early 1950s."

Althemese Barnes
Founder and Executive Director
Riley House Museum of African American History

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