The Friendship

This article is about the children's book. For other uses, see Friendship (disambiguation).

The partnership
Author(s)	Mildred Taylor
Illustrator	Max Ginsburg
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Children's literature, African-American Literature
Publisher	hardback, Dial, paperback, Puffin
Publication date	1987-09-30
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	56 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-803-70417-8
OCLC Number	14965647
LC Classification	PZ7.T21723 Fr 1987

The Friendship is the name of the 1988 Coretta Scott King Award-winning book by Mildred Taylor. Published in 1987, it is set in 1933 in Mississippi. It deals with the unfair treatment of African Americans.

Summary

Mr. Tom Bee, an elderly black man, twice saved the life of a white storekeeper when he was a boy. The boy, John Wallace, was grateful and even allowed Mr. Bee to always call him by his first name. However, years later, Mr. Wallace does not allow Mr. Bee to call him John, while he and even his son call him Tom, which he can do nothing about. Their friendship is ultimately put to the test, which four black children witness. Later Mr. Tom Bee is shot by John Wallace. Mr. Tom Bee crawls away, cursing John Wallace and refusing to give up calling him John.