Mary grew up a slave on an Alabama plantation. Slaves could not be educated, but at eight years old she dreamed of one day being free and learning to read. At fifteen, slaves were freed, but Mary continued to work in the South. A group of evangelists gave her a bible. Looking at all the words inside, she again dreamed that someday she will read. Over the next fifty years she would work as a sharecropper, marry, have a son, be widowed, marry again and have two more sons. At sixty eight, she stopped sharecropping, but would go to church, holding her bible, still dreaming of the day she could read its words. At 114, Mary's husband and sons had died and she was moved to a retirement home. Looking out her window, she would look at the words on the signs of the city, but they meant nothing more than a squiggle to her. When she was told that there would be a class held in her building that would teach her to read, she grabbed her cane and was ready to go. Over the next few years, she did it! Mary learned to read. She was proclaimed the nation's oldest student by the Department of Education, and received honors from President Johnson on her 118th birthday, and President Nixon on her 121st birthday.
This amazing story of determination, empowerment and motivation are boldly illustrated by Oge Mora in cut paper, clippings, marker, pencil and acrylic collages. Excellent for providing motivation and inspiration to read, as well as an example of the plight of slaves and sharecroppers in a system that denied them basic human rights.
Mark's Book Picks Score: 4
Reading Level: 4.6 • Interest Level: K-3 • AR Points: 0.5 • Lexile Level: AD830L • Publisher: Random House • Pages: 40 • Copyright: 2020 • ISBN: 978-1-524-76828-7 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding
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