Picture of author.

Carla Killough McClafferty

Teoksen Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium tekijä

10 teosta 513 jäsentä 19 arvostelua 1 Favorited

Tietoja tekijästä

Sarjat

Tekijän teokset

Merkitty avainsanalla

Yleistieto

Sukupuoli
female

Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

I'm looking for great nonfiction to book talk to upper elementary kids, and I don't think this is going to work for me. I was liking it and then it suddenly took on an uncritical reverential football-worshiping voice. Up until then, it was an eye-opening account of the many young men who died playing football in the late 19th and early 20th century. Suddenly, the book flashes forward to the present day and football teams become perfect units dedicated to nothing but winning and they are heroes to the cheerleaders who form human tunnels for them to run through. Gag me.

I want to give this three stars because there's really good stuff here, but I just can't because of that big biased swerve in the middle of the book. Not to rant, but this is what's wrong with a lot of nonfiction for young people. They don't need or want to be condescended to as readers. Authors, please stick to reportage and analysis and leave out the hyperbolic fluff.

Nevertheless, I recommend this (with reservations). It's sure to catch the interest of reluctant readers and the info within is important.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
LibrarianDest | 1 muu arvostelu | Jan 3, 2024 |
buried Lives is eye opening! McClafferty has done her homework and has discovered some interesting facts about five of Washington's slaves. She has filled in the missing parts of their histories with period facts. The result is an glimpse into the lives of the slaves of Mount Vernon.
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
SWONclear | 1 muu arvostelu | Nov 1, 2019 |
McClafferty has previously written a number of nonfiction titles for children, including several about George Washington. In her latest book, she proves that while history may not change, the parts of it we choose to commemorate and remember certainly do.

George Washington is a primary historical figure and his military campaigns, political work, and position as a symbol of American independence has been assured (except for the third graders that got him mixed up with Abraham Lincoln...) But what about the slaves he owned? McClafferty follows Washington's changing views on slavery with personal documents and his own changing fortunes.

However, Washington is not the primary focus. The primary focus of this book is the hidden people who served Washington personally, on his plantation, and in the Nation's capital. The lives of four enslaved people and one couple are told, their hidden pasts brought to light. William Lee was Washington's trusted servant and stayed at his side through the Revolutionary War. When he was injured after the war, he was set to work making shoes. He remained at Mt. Vernon after Washington's death, when he was freed. Christopher Sheels, one of Martha Washington's slaves, was prevented from gaining his freedom first by the Washingtons, then by his own choice when he returned to Mt. Vernon, and finally when his attempt to escape with his wife was discovered. Caroline Branham and Peter Hardiman labored for many years for the Washingtons, Branham as a seamstress and maid and Hardiman as a rented carpenter and stablehand. Accolades given to the Washingtons for their hospitality, their horse breeding, and their innovative introduction of mules could more accurately have been attributed to the couple who did most of hard labor of these projects. Ona Maria Judge and Hercules, after long service to the Washingtons and despite many attempts to bring them - and their children - back to slavery - escaped.

McClafferty retells the story of the Washingtons and their time period through the eyes of their slaves. When visitors praised the George Washington's estates, they rarely mentioned the slaves who labored on them. When they wrote of the beauty and luxury of Mt. Vernon, they didn't mention the cooks, maids, seamstresses, and other slaves on whose labor it was built. After following up on the little that is known about the rest of the lives of these men and women after Washington's death, McClafferty turns to the history of Mt. Vernon and how the restoration of Washington's estate finally acknowledged and commemorated the slaves who had lived, worked, and died there.

Verdict: McClafferty peels back the pages of history and reveals, in moving but objective prose, the lives of the slaves owned and used by George Washington. Readers can reflect on the gap between Washington's spoken views on slavery and his actions, as well as how history has long ignored the contributions of these and other people.

ISBN: 9780823436972; Published 2018 by Holiday House; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
JeanLittleLibrary | 1 muu arvostelu | Sep 14, 2019 |
I think this book is really great because it teaches students that it only takes one person to make a difference which is a lesson everyone needs to know regardless of how old you are. I think a good activity to do with students in a 7th grade classroom when talking about real world application of things we read in literature. I would have them my students be journalist just like Varian Fry and find information out about a topic or issue they feel passionate about. Another use for this book would be when talking about history and more specifically World War II and the Nazis. The extension I would have them do would be a free write activity where they respond to a prompt asking if they agree with Fry's decision to disobey the law in order to help the refugees out of the country.… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
JMudd | 6 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Apr 1, 2017 |

Listat

Palkinnot

You May Also Like

Tilastot

Teokset
10
Jäseniä
513
Suosituimmuussija
#48,356
Arvio (tähdet)
4.0
Kirja-arvosteluja
19
ISBN:t
33
Kielet
1
Kuinka monen suosikki
1

Taulukot ja kaaviot