happy birthday addy a springtime story connie porter

But would a brand new former slave feel it so strongly or question so much? It feels almost too much like preaching an agenda - and perhaps would have been better seen from the point of view of one of the characters who had been born free, who perhaps had relatives who were serving as soldiers in the military. I agree that the contrast was definitely there.

Wouldn't she still be reveling in the newness of being allowed to walk down a street alone or even to be allowed to learn how to read and write - something she grew up being forbidden. I agree that someone who has been free might not see the fairness, I tend to think that mere months after leaving a plantation where she was beaten and treated unfairly that she's going to worry that there are stores that won't serve her. I really question how much a girl who is a newly freed slave is going to think it's unfair that she can't ride a streetcar. The thing is, this reads more like a book on segregation in the 1950s. Using the platform of Addy, who was born a slave and is now freed and in Philadelphia, we see what segregation looked like in the 1860s. I wonder about the characterization and this historical accuracy (ok, I KNOW it's not always historically accurate) but this time it's really bugging me. I'm just not sure what to think about this series. And all of these things are worth celebrating! But just before you can be lulled into thinking her life is great, Porter reminds you that this better home is still one room, her family is still separated, and Philadelphia is still rife with racial prejudice. She's starting to have a community of people who care about her at the boarding house.

She and her parents have a better place to live - no more snow coming in the stuck window! They have a picnic in the park one weekend. She looks at all the things that would have seemed impossible only a year ago - school, salaries, friends. Overall, this book is a push/pull between 'Oh, look how good Addy has it now!' and 'Poor Addy has it really rough.' Even Addy sees it that way. As Addy settles in, it's really nice to see her connecting with someone outside her family or school group - and she gets a wealth of wisdom and perspective on everything from Double Dutch to dealing with racism. And unlike the Samantha series, Porter has the Addy books pretty tightly plotted, so safe to assume that's a carefully made choice. M'Dear only shows up in this one story, which is a shame, because she's delightful. It must have really worried me as a kid that (a) Addy or Sarah would get hurt (b) they'd get back and M'Dear would be dead or (c) the girls would get in BIG TROUBLE.

The thing I most remembered about this one was the streetcar escapade, and I had in my head that it was a 'you were just told NOT to do that' situation - which it isn't, exactly. Rereading as an adult, here's what stands out:

Happy birthday addy a springtime story connie porter