Age: 4th-6th grade
Time period: 1930s USA
Tough Issue: Racism, KKK

Stella finds unlikely inspiration for her emergent writing as she tries to process the dangers of a growing band of KKK members while her father stands up to prejudice and racism by garnering the right to vote. A fast-moving read for a topic that is (terribly) relevant as the modern KKK are becoming more engaged in poverty-stricken communities.

Spoiler

At the end of the book, Stella saves the "Grand Dragon's" daughter from drowning, showing that kindness can help sever bigotry in a child growing up in a house full of hate. Draper also shows the strength of a community in opposition to fear-mongering, as Stella's community bands together to put out the deliberate fire at a neighbor's house.

Goodreads synopsis: "Stella lives in the segregated South; in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can't. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn't bothered them for years. 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."