Lunch-Box Dream

Bobby and his family are visiting Civil War battlefields on the eve of the war's centenary, while inside their car, quiet battles rage. When an accident cuts their trip short, they return home on a bus and witness an incident that threatens to deny a black family seats. What they don't know is the reason for the family's desperation to be on that bus: a few towns away, their child is missing.
In Lunch-Box Dream Tony Abbott presents Jim Crow, racism, and segregation from multiple perspectives. In this story of witnessing without understanding, a naïvely prejudiced boy, in brief flashes of insight, starts to identify and question his assumptions about race.

“Abbott's true-to-life descriptions and complicated story lines set in the volatile, pre-Civil Rights era will leave readers with much to think about and discuss when considering race relations in our country's history.” —School Library Journal

“* Beautifully crafted and written.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“This tale, based in part on Abbott's memories of a childhood road trip, could fuel avid classroom discussion or quiet personal reflection.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“With every narrative turn, Tony Abbott brings these never-before-seen perspectives into view in this moving civil rights kaleidoscope. Untold. Unforgettable.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer