Papa's Mark
Author: Gwendolyn Batlle- Lavert
Illustrator: Colin Bootman
Holiday House 2004
32 Pages
Historical Fiction
I chose this book because it really shows how unfortunate African-Americans were before they had rights. The fact that they were not priveleged enough to have an education really hindered their chances of being successful, even though some pushed through those boundries.
Simms' father has never been able to write his name. Instead, he always marked anything with an "X". For the first time, black men are allowed to vote and he wanted to learn how to write his name, so Simms teaches him.
This book was illustrated in what looked like watercolors and oils. The shadowing and detail are great and bring to reality the dark world that African-Americans lived in prior to their freedom.
I think this book would be great for third to fourth grade to read. It paints a really good picture of the oppression suffered by black men, trying to gain independence and rise above the ashes to make a life for their families.
I would pick this book for social studies. The Civil Rights Movement was a very important time in our history and this book takes us inside just one family's life. It shows what was truly important to them and how we take things like voting for granted, while this man was honored and wanted to make the very best of it.
There are no awards for this book that I know of.
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