Customer Reviews

Welcome to Addy's World, 1864: Growing Up During America's Civil War (American Girl)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a great introduction to children about a difficult subject. It is well-written without being too heavy for a youngster. I am somewhat irritated at a previous review, stating that the book focuses too much on slavery and "not enough time spent on life during the Civil War." I hope others reading this book with their children realize that it is about a young black girl who is growing up in the institution of slavery. For her and actual slaves like her, this was "life during the Civil War."

I purchased this book for my grandaughter and we have enjoyed reading it together. Since I am a civil war buff, I can commend this book for its historical accuracy and relevance. It has been great to share my favorite historical period with my grandaughter in a format that is easy for her to understand. The drawings and pictures are excellent. I agree with the previous reviewer. Yes, this book deals with slavery, because that was THE issue during the civil war. All of our children, regardless of race, need to be educated about the Civil War. And that would be impossible to accomplish by limiting or eliminating information on slavery and the major role it played before, during, and after America's Civil War.

Of course Addy focused on slavery. She was a slave! How in the world could her story be told without focusing on it? The idea that this sad, yet vibrant history should be pushed under the rug is ridiculous. Slavery is part of the American history. Our children should know about it, our children should embrace it and our children should understand it so they know how not to repeat the same mistake in their lifetimes. As parents we can't pick and choose what parts of our truth and identity should or should not be revealed. How we deal with these difficult yet necessary topics will definitely determine how our children will deal with it. Our children deserve the opportunity to rise above it but that can only happen in the face of truth.

If you are looking to make American Girls series "Addy" into a history study, this book is perfect. The pictures are very good and the book is filled with lots of really good information from the time period. It really makes the story come to life. Not sure why these books are no longer available in fuller distribution (I had to purchase a used copy). However, it was well worth the price and I will probably buy the other books that are available.

This is a good book, but it needs to talk more about the Civil War.

There was too much time spent in the book on slavery and not enough time spent on life during the Civil War.