Addy Learns a Lesson: A School Story (American Girls Collection) (Paperback)

by Connie Porter (Author), Melodye Benson Rosales (Illustrator) "Addy Walker and her mother stood on a busy pier in Philadelphia one hot afternoon at the end of August..." (more)
Key Phrases: spelling match, Miss Dunn, African Americans, North Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
After arriving in Philadelphia, Addy Walker and her mother set out to build new lives for themselves, with Addy attending school for the first time and making new friends. Simultaneous.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 68 pages
• Publisher: American Girl Publishing Inc (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562470779
• ISBN-13: 978-1562470777
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #240,139 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Informative book!, February 27, 2000

By	Lynn Plotkin (RI) - See all my reviews

This is a wonderful story that brings a part of the past back to life. It is told from a view point that is not often heard from, a young black girl who was a slave and has escaped, but doesn't know how to read or write. It also tells a story of the hardship of a black family during this time and the story of friendship that applies to all races. I think the character Addy is one girls will enjoy reading about, I don't think boys will like it very much. The story is told in a way that children can easily read and understand. At the end of the book is a short description with actual pictures of life at that time for a young black girl and what school was like back then for black children.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best lessons never are confined to the schoolhouse, August 1, 2004

By	Robin Orlowski "political activist" (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

For the first time in her life, Addy Walker attends school. Her mother (unable to read or write herself)gave her daughter a special dress to wear so she can successfully represent the family's rapidly rising expectations in Philadelphia.

In addition to formal educational instruction, Addy learns that not every person is friendly and bigotry is not confined to white southerners whom she had escaped from in the first book (Meet Addy). For whatever reason, some other African Americans look down upon people trying to escape slavery and obtain their freedom.

A classmate named Harriet openly pretends she is better than other classmates because her family has enjoyed freedom longer. The teacher's quick intervention reminds students in 19th century America that all African Americans are subordinated and freedom depends on each student working together inside their community. In this high pressure environment intra-communty attacks are not appropriate because all African Americans (including the attack initator) will be rendered vulnerable to discrimination.

Thus, Addy practices her lessons by teaching her mother how to read using dough in their boarding house room. Possessing maturity beyond her physical years, Addy understands her mom also needs to read. In addition to increasing her employability this will enable the mother/daughter relationship to remain as the two live and work in Philadelphia. If only Addy knew how to read, the mother would become disproportionately dependent upon her own daughter for basic survival needs.

The segregated northern schooling where Addy recieves the coveted education might be difficult to explain to some young people who had grown up believing the South only had the practice, but this title is another prize addition to the American Girls series.

Examining American history through the eyes of a young girl, Porter reassures her pre-adolescent target audience things are not always supposed to be easily understood upon first encounter. The most endearing lessons have several moral and ethical angles.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My daughter and I loved this book, October 27, 2002

By	Kurt A. Johnson (Marseilles, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Addy Learns a Lesson: A School Story (American Girls Collection) (Hardcover)

This is another in the American Girls series about Addy Walker, a nine-year-old African-American girl living in the America of 1864. In this story, Addy and her mother arrive in Philadelphia and freedom. Unfortunately, Addy begins to learn that freedom in the North is not what she expected it to be. Racism pervades this new world, and even the African-American girls of her own school are not all friendly. Along the way, though, Addy learns about friendship and perseverance.

The final chapter is a look at education for African-American children in the America of 1864. This book is another great Addy book, teaching some great lessons, against the backdrop of real hardships. My eleven-year-old daughter loved this book, and so do I.