Granddaddy's Gift - Hardcover

Mitchell, Margaree King

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816740100 ISBN 13: 9780816740109

Publisher: Bridgewater Books, 1997

Synopsis

When her grandfather registers to vote while living in segregated Mississippi, an African American girl begins to understand why he insists that she attend school

About this title

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3. A young African-American woman reminisces about a memorable incident from her Mississippi childhood in the 1960s. When a lawyer addressed a local gathering looking for volunteers to register to vote, the girl's grandfather was the only one to step forward. That same day he had impressed upon her the importance of going to school, telling her, "I want you to learn as much as you can so when you grow up, you can choose what you want to do. I didn't have that choice." Readers are told why the man's actions were dangerous, how his livelihood was threatened because he wished to exercise his constitutional right, and how his granddaughter's life was affected by his bravery. The text explains a complex social and political situation in a manner that children can understand. The illustrations are done in rich, deep tones of browns, greens, and black. The grandfather is portrayed as a man of great wisdom and dignity, reminding the girl to press on even in the face of danger. A lovely, intelligent look at a chapter of American history.?Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A sensitive effort from Mitchell (Uncle Jed's Barbershop, 1993), about a courageous man in the segregated South who steadfastly pursued a goal (in this case, the right to vote), creating a legacy of pride and hope for the young girl who tells his story. Although the language is simple and straightforward, readers will require some background to understand how Jim Crow laws effectively disenfranchised Southern blacks for nearly a century after the passage of the 15th Amendment. With robust paintings by Johnson, the book will be instructive for those--of every age--without a clear understanding of how dearly won are rights they may take for granted. (Picture book. 7-11) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5^-9. Growing up on Granddaddy's farm in segregated Mississippi, a child learns about the value of education and the struggle for democracy. The first-person narrative brings the history home. When she tries to stay home from school, Granddaddy insists that she must go, even though the school is inferior: she must learn, so that she can grow up to choose her way. When Granddaddy becomes the first volunteer in the community to try to register to vote, she is with him when he is humiliated by white officials and by an ugly crowd. And she is with him when he refuses to give up. That night their church is set on fire, and the black community unifies in protest. Johnson's strong, realistic, double-page-spread oil paintings are both understated and intense. They personalize the familiar scenes of the civil rights movement, depicting not the famous leaders but ordinary people at home and in the public space of small-town America. The issues are still with us. The image of the blazing church makes clear how far we still have to go. Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Bridgewater Books
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0816740100
• ISBN 13: 9780816740109
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Johnson Larry
• Number of pages: 1