The Liberation of Gabriel King
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2005
Gabriel King believes he was born chicken. He’s afraid of spiders, corpses, loose cows, and just about everything related to the fifth grade. If it’s a choice between graduating or staying in the fourth grade forever, he’s going to stay put; only his best friend Frita Wilson won’t hear of it.
With wisdom and clarity, K. L. Going explores the nature of fear in what should be an idyllic summer for two friends from different backgrounds. For them, living in a small town in Georgia with an active Ku Klux Klan, the summer of 1976 is a momentous one.
It’s the summer they figure out what courage is all about.
Book Links magazine selected as one of the children’s books that best represents the state of Georgia. Now that’s some Southern hospitality!
“Kids often send me their fear lists after they’ve read The Liberation of Gabriel King. Sometimes school classes will read the book together and then discuss the things they’re afraid of…I am always honored when they share those lists and discussions with me. It’s so important to name our fears and talk about them. It’s an act of bravery any time someone admits their fears to others. So, to honor the spirit of the book and the kids who share so honestly with me, here are ten of my personal fears, in no particular order.”
—KL
KL’s Fear List
- spiders coming down from the ceiling when I’m sleeping and landing on me
- anything bad happening to my family
- speaking in front of big groups
- merging into heavy traffic and crashing the car
- getting bad book reviews (kind of like getting bad grades…)
- running into a bear when I’m out walking (I live in the country so this could happen!)
- scary people
- hurting someone’s feelings without realizing it (because then I can’t apologize and make it better)
- my cat, Pippin, getting lost
- edges of high places, especially wobbly ones
Foreign Edition Covers
Awards & Recognition
- International Reading Association Notable Book, 2005
- Top 10 Booksense pick
- Book of the Month club selection
- IOWA Children’s Choice Award nominee, 2009-2010
- Massachusetts Children’s Book Award Master List, 2008
- Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Award nominee, 2007-2008
- South Carolina Junior Book Award nominee, 2007-2008
- Kentucky State Book Award nominee
- Rhode Island State Book Award nominee
- Children’s Crown Award nominee, Grades 3-5 category, 2007-2008
Teacher Resources
Note to teachers: Kids often ask how I come up with the ideas for my books. It’s never a straightforward process. The first draft of The Liberation of Gabriel King was written by hand in a notebook and then set aside. It wasn’t until much later, after 9/11, that I took the story out again and decided to revise it.
I was working in publishing at the time, and after that traumatic event we were inundated with manuscripts dealing with 9/11. I couldn’t help wishing there were more books being submitted that dealt with the topic of fear in a more general sense. That’s when I remembered my “shelved” novel about two kids who decide to overcome all their fears in the course of one summer. The time was right to take it out again.
We all have fears – big ones, small ones, funny ones, and serious ones – and The Liberation of Gabriel King helps kids to work through their fears, while also learning some history and hopefully having a great time reading or listening to the story.
I hope the questions and activities below will help you bring Gabe and Frita to life in your classroom!
Reviews
“Gabe King, Going’s (Fat Kid Rules the World) sympathetic narrator, has a list of fears longer than he is tall (No. 29 is that he’ll never get any taller). All manner of bugs make him antsy but his biggest worries, justifiably, are two sixth-grade bullies. He’s so intent on keeping his distance he’s willing to stay in fourth grade rather than move up to fifth, where he’ll once again have to share a cafeteria and playground with bullies Duke and Frankie. Gabe’s best friend, Frita, the only black kid in his class, has other ideas: she plans to spend the summer of 1976 “liberating” Gabe from the things that scare him (she gives him a spider for a pet and makes him try the rope swing over the catfish pond). In solidarity, Frita makes her own “fear list”; chillingly, the Ku Klux Klan takes the top spot, and, poignantly, the list includes “not having Gabe with me in the fifth grade.” Full of humanity and humor, this well-paced novel offers a dollop of history with its setting in rural Georgia at the moment local boy Jimmy Carter’s presidential bid is gaining momentum. The villains’ credibility makes them scary, and both Gabe and Frita’s refreshingly functional families are exquisitely drawn, especially Terrance, Frita’s menacing older brother (No. 6 on Gabe’s list). Although Gabe gets the title role, wise, brave Frita is clearly the star. Ages 10-up.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review.
“It’s the summer of 1976 in a small town in Georgia. Gabriel King has just finished fourth grade and is scared about fifth. In fact, he’s scared of many things: spiders, alligators, falling into the toilet, killer robots, corpses, swinging off the rope swing, his neighbor Mr. Evans and bullies at school. His best friend Frita is out of to liberate Gabriel from his fears. She has him make a list of them and work through them one at a time. However, Frita, who is African-American, has fears of her own and the story becomes a study of standing up to fears and bullies, from the school yard to the Klu Klux Klan. Strong voice, lively dialogue, humor and important themes make this a winner. Readers will enjoy following the sometimes-tempestuous friendship of Gabriel and Frita, and they’ll be completely absorbed in watching the friends and their community come together to stand up against the evil within.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review.
“Ms. Going seamlessly weaves together the issues of name calling, racial prejudice, and heroism in this story for all ages. It is a superb book for this week; it being National No Name Calling Week.” —Richie’s Picks: Great Books for Children and Young Adults.
“After being tied up by two older bullies and forced to miss his fourth-grade graduation, Gabriel King decides there’s no way he’s moving up to fifth grade. Fifth grade would mean being in a different wing of the school reserved for older kids, including the two bullies, and he wants no part of such daily torture.
It’s the summer of 1976 in Hollowell, Georgia, and the first person to hear of Gabe’s decision is his best friend, Frita Wilson, the only black girl in his class. In The Liberation of Gabriel King, Frita comes up with a plan to help Gabe stop being chicken: the two of them will each make a list of all their fears and then spend the summer facing each fear, crossing them off one by one. They’ll save Gabe’s worst fears—the worst bully, Duke Evans, and fifth grade—for last, when Gabe is braver.
Cover, italy
Gabriel is not at all sure about this strategy, but he agrees to try, dutifully listing each of his 38 fears, such as spiders, alligators, robbers, losing his parents or calling his teacher “momma” by accident. He’s even afraid of Frita’s teenage brother,Terrance, who spends much of his time in the basement hitting punching bags. Gabe and Frita are especially believable characters, and the novel moves quickly as fear after fear is tackled, with both humorous and frightening results.
This is the second novel by K.L. Going, whose Fat Kid Rules the World won a multitude of awards. Her second novel is a wonderful follow-up, a compelling and humorous story of friendship and fear that will no doubt win more accolades. Going has created a gentle yet powerful picture of racism, along with a very real portrait of the summer of 1976, when the citizens of Georgia were excited by Jimmy Carter’s run for the presidency. As he confronts his fears, Gabe also learns a lot about friendship and prejudice.He realizes, for instance, that Terrance isn’t scary at all, and he also witnesses how cruel some people are to Frita.
The Liberation of Gabriel King is a smashing read, both fun and informative, providing plenty of fodder for discussion. My guess is that it will quickly be included on school reading lists. Will Gabe ever make it to the fifth grade? Start reading and see.” —Book Page.