The Idylls of the King is a series of twelve narrative poems in blank verse that recount the legend of King Arthur. Though the poems are set in the distant past, many of the ideals set forward are representative of the Victorian age in which Tennyson lived. Individual poems follow the stories of certain knights or other important figures, like Lancelot and Merlin, and the overall arc of the epic tells the story of Arthur's rise to power and his eventual death.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a Newbery Award-winning children's novel narrated by Cassie Logan, a little girl growing up in Mississippi in 1933. Not only do Cassie and her family have to deal with the lingering effects of racism, but they also must cope with the economic difficulties of the Great Depression. Cassie's depiction of living and going to school in the post-Civil War South serves as an exploration of racism, legacy, and the importance of family.