As Fast As Words Could Fly

By Pamela M. Tuck, Eric Velasquez (Illustrator)

A young boy uses his typing skills to challenge racial barriers in a segregated school.

4.4/5 Goodreads · 644 ratings

40 pages

$11.95Save 7%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

In 1960s North Carolina, Mason Steele, an African American teenager, faces the daunting challenge of attending a newly desegregated high school. Armed with a typewriter and determination, Mason navigates prejudice and fear. As he excels in typing, he prepares for a county tournament that could change everything. Will his skills and courage be enough to break through the racial barriers and inspire change? Discover how Mason's journey becomes a testament to resilience and the power of self-belief in a world resistant to change.

From the publisher

New Voices Award Winner, LEE &amp; LOW BOOKS Teacher’s Choices, International Reading Association (IRA) Diverse and Impressive Children’s Books of 2013, International Reading Association (IRA)The story of Mason Steele, an African American boy in 1960s Greenville, North Carolina, who relies on his inner strength and his typing skills to break racial barriers after he begins attending a whites-only high school.Now in paperback!Young Mason Steele takes pride in turning his father’s excited ramblings about the latest civil rights incidents into handwritten business letters. One day Pa comes home with a gift from his civil rights group: a typewriter. Thrilled with the present, Mason spends all his spare time teaching himself to type. Soon he knows where every letter on the keyboard is located. When the civil rights group wins a school desegregation case, Mason learns that now he will be attending a formerly all-white high school. Despite his fears and injustice from the students and faculty, Mason perseveres. He does well in school-especially in his typing class. And when he competes in the county typing tournament, Mason decides to take a stand, using his skills to triumph over prejudice and break racial barriers. Winner of Lee &amp; Low’s New Voices Award, As Fast As Words Could Fly is an inspiring testament to the power of hard work, determination, and belief in yourself to overcome life’s challenges.

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