When Winter Robeson Came

★ “Author Brenda Woods offers this heartfelt piece of historical fiction as she recalls witnessing the Watts Rebellion in 1965. Eden is an aspiring songwriter, and the book cleverly uses music terminology to convey Eden’s and Winter’s shifting emotions during the six days of unrest and to mark the pacing of the plot. The free verse makes some of the more complex themes accessible, and this could easily spark a thoughtful discussion on how a history of Jim Crow laws, police brutality, and housing inequality plays into current social unrest.”
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

“A highly relatable and at times poetic piece of writing and American history with a fresh depiction of lower- to upper-middle-class Black life in midcentury Los Angeles.”
—New York Times Book Review

“A heartfelt exploration of the 1965 Watts Rebellion as seen through the eyes of a remarkable girl.”
—Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

“Woods has framed this story lyrically, using musical movements and terminology to move the exposition along believably through Eden, who hopes to be a songstress. Readers will find themselves immersed in the time period with naturally included details, including musicians, authors, and places. This slim yet affecting offering presents an important moment in U.S. history that sadly mirrors current events. Middle-graders will be entertained and educated, as well as inspired to action.”
—Booklist
 
“Woods explores the Watts riots of August 1965 through the experience of two Black cousins in a rhythmic historical novel in verse. . . . Interwoven with plentiful music references ("Winter and I became a duo; our ballad, a duet") and utilizing historically accurate language, Woods's harmonious play-by-play narrative of growing up during the Watts Riots spotlights some long-lasting effects of racial inequality and discrimination on children.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Eden plans to be a songwriter, and the text frequently achieves lines Eden herself would relish. . . . Neighborhood, family, friends, music, social justice, and dreams—themes that Eden begins to weave into songs by story's end. This is a layered story, told from the heart and rooted in the Woods's own experiences in 1965 Watts, as related in the author's note.”
—Horn Book