Addy Learns A Lesson (American Girl) [Paperback]

Connie Porter (Author), Dahl Taylor (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1993 | Age Level: 8 and up | Series: American Girl

Addy and her mother arrive in Philadelphia to begin life as free people. Everything is new to them in the big city. Addy is happy--she has a friend for the first time, Sarah, and she is learning to read and write. In school, Addy sits next to Harriet. Harriet is smart, wealthy, and popular. She has the life that Addy thought freedom would bring her. Addy hopes to be friends with Sarah and Harriet, but she ends up having to choose between them. Addy's choice teaches her about real friendship and real freedom.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Pleasant Company (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562470779
• ISBN-13: 978-1562470777
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 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 (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #439,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 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
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Addy Learns A Lesson (American Girl) (Paperback)

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.

7 of 8 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 review is from: Addy Learns A Lesson (American Girl) (Paperback)

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.

4 of 4 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 (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Addy Learns a Lesson - Hc (American Girl) (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.