‘Green Street in Black and White’ asks the question:
What are our kids learning from us, right now, about the kinds of communities we want to build?
By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine
Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page, where Green Street in Black and White is available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle versions. The novel also is available from Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, Bookshop.org, Walmart—and wherever quality books are sold.
Early readers are telling Dave Larsen that they are recognizing themselves and their families in this compelling new novel that asks the question: What are we teaching our kids right now by the decisions we are making in our communities?
Like a lot of great American literature—from Mark Twain to Harper Lee to Carson McCullers to Stephen King—Larsen immerses us in a gripping story in which adults respond to crises—but the whole drama is observed through the eyes of the kids whose lives are forever shaped by the outcome.
That’s why so many readers recognize themselves in this new book.
“First, this novel is my story—and many of the characters and scenes are based on real events from my childhood in the neighborhood where I grew up,” Larsen said in an interview this week.
“Yes, this is Dave’s story—but it’s my story, too, and it’s really the story of millions of Americans who been confronted with changes in our neighborhoods throughout our lives,” said Susan Stitt, the Marketing Director of Front Edge Publishing who was an early advocate of Dave’s manuscript. “I know lots of friends who will find themselves in this book, now that the book is launching.” And, what’s remarkable about Susan’s response is this: Unlike Dave—who grew up as a Protestant boy in a Chicago-area neighborhood—Susan grew up as a Catholic girl in a Detroit-area neighborhood. Susan said, “At first glance, it seems like we’re from different worlds, but I can tell you: I saw myself and my family and my neighborhood all the way through this novel.”
“Green Street has that ring of truth, which makes it a great novel,” said Reformed Journal Books Publisher Jeffrey Munroe—the longtime Holland, Michigan, journalist who worked with Larsen as an editor on his manuscript. Then, Munroe selected Green Street as the first work of fiction among his inaugural wave of Reformed Journal Books. “I could see that lots of readers will see themselves in this novel—and it has the potential to spark nationwide conversations and lots of small-group discussions.”
Munroe is widely respected by his peers in media because he first demonstrated how to launch a best-selling book himself with his 2024 best-seller Telling Stories in the Dark, the first title from Reformed Journal Books.
So, who are these families we’ll meet in Green Street?
This week, we asked Dave Larsen to talk with our readers—via a Zoom interview—about his hopes for Green Street in Black and White as the novel launches nationally on April 29, 2025. Here is some of what Larsen said:
“The first thing I want people to know about Green Street is that I tried to give readers a good story—the kind of story they will want to keep reading. That’s why I’m pleased to hear early readers tell me they’re enjoying it. One reader told me that each chapter almost feels like it could stand on its own as a short story—but they just had to keep reading to learn what happens next to the characters. At the core of this, that’s what I hoped would happen: People will enjoy the ‘read.’
“The story is seen from the point of view of 12-year-old Erik Pedersen and his friends—the Green Street Boys—who are trying to make sense of the confusing adult world around them. The big change in their neighborhood is that the white parents decide to move away—in what readers will recognize as ‘white flight’ in that era. So, yes, it’s a timely book. We’re still wrestling with these issues right now.
“As it says on an opening page in the book: This is ‘based on a true story.’ It’s my story. These kinds of things happened to me and my friends and our family. And yet, over the years since then, I never did sit down with my parents and have a real conversation about their decision-making as they decided to move away. I regret that. When I became a parent myself, I naturally thought back on my parents’ decisions—and I wished that I had asked them more about why they did what they did.
“So, I am going back in Green Street and looking at what happened through the eyes of this boy who is a curious kid with lots of questions. Erik likes to read, loves Sherlock Holmes, and he’s an observer—including from the perch of his treehouse. He and his young friends are closely watching what happens among the adults around them. The choices those adults are making will forever shape their lives.
“One of the things I hope this book may provoke is a discussion with questions like: What are we showing our children today? Are there any signs of hope?
“And, as I talk to groups, I am letting them know that I am hopeful. I see signs particularly of Christian communities—including some Christian schools—that are purposefully trying to bring disparate communities together so that the things that unfold in this novel won’t keep happening today.
“It’s true that some things aren’t different today—but a lot of hearts have been changed since that time I’m writing about. I do feel optimism that more and more people are reflecting on what the kingdom of God really ought to look like. I hope that this new novel may be a part of that journey for readers—and that it’s a good opportunity for people to talk about what kinds of communities we’re building.”
Just how timely is Green Street in Black and White?
The phrase “white flight” typically refers to the major population shifts post World War II through the 1960s as freeways expanded, suburbs exploded and communities migrated—often driven by racism, fears of declining property values, changes in public schooling and other related social tensions.
But the fact is: Americans continue to segregate along racial and ethnic dividing lines.
If you are buying a copy of Larsen’s book—and especially if you are considering this book for group discussions, here are some resources to help shape the conversation today:
Two of the best sets of publicly available data for general readers come from Stanford and UCLA.
First, here’s “70 years after Brown v. Board of Education, new research shows rise in school segregation” from the Stanford Graduate School of Education.
Second, from UCLA, here’s “New report details extensive segregation in suburban schools of largest U.S. metros amid policy vacuum”
Finally, from 2022 via the U.S. Census, here’s “Metropolitan Segregation: No Breakthrough in Sight”
Then, here are two powerful interactive resources to let readers zero in on their own communities nationwide.
Stanford provides The Segregation Explorer—an “interactive map to view school and neighborhood segregation between racial/ethnic and economic groups in states, counties, metropolitan areas, and school districts over the past several decades.”
Then, from the Brown University American Communities Project, here’s the Diversity & Disparities database—”information on specific metropolitan areas and their respective city and suburban portions.”
Care to Read More?
For immediate reading from Reformed Journal Books, we recommend:
Click these covers to visit the Amazon pages.
In the darkest corners of our lives, where sorrow, trauma, grief and pain reside, there exists a profound capacity for resilience and hope. Telling Stories in the Dark by Jeffrey Munroe is a uniquely inspiring non-fiction book that illuminates the transformative power of sharing our most profound experiences of suffering.
Travel shapes our identity, from ancient spiritual journeys to the modern movement of people across the globe. In his latest book, Douglas J. Brouwer, a pastor, scholar and lifelong traveler, invites readers to reflect on the profound, transformative power of travel in all its forms. With over 40 years of pastoral ministry in the U.S. and Europe, Doug shares personal stories from his own life, from childhood road trips to leading mission teams, study tours, and pilgrimages.
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