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Children and youth living in the first half of the twentieth century in America experienced a myriad of changes in technology economics, lifestyles, connections with the world, and the neverending quest for "a more perfect union." Recent realistic fiction that illuminates life in the United States during this period portrays children and youth as important players in historical events, both great and small, sometimes learning from the older generations, sometimes leading the way. Life in a democracy brings challenging experiences, causing young Americans and their families to struggle with moral ambiguities, stereotypes, and discrimination along with the normal conflicts associated with coming-of-age.
The early years of the twentieth century found affluent Americans expecting continued progress, contentment, and prosperity even though rural poverty and prejudice against nonwhites persisted. Children and families who were part of this privileged social milieu occasionally found that their lives were jolted into change by being exposed to a new idea, a new person, or a new experience. In Cutler's The Song of the Molimo, a...