Glenda ArmandRezensionen

Augustus Jackson (1808-1852) left his family in Philadelphia when he was twelve and went to Washington, D.C., where he worked in the White House kitchens and learned to make, and improve on, ice cream - at the time, a treat only for the wealthy and privileged. (His version was made without egg.) He left the White House and returned to Philly, where he opened an ice cream parlor, and invented the practice of adding rock salt to the ice used to make ice cream, speeding up the process. He never patented his creations, but is known as the "man who invented ice cream." Musical ditties to encourage ice cream sales are included throughout the story.

The digital paintings aren't my favorite, but I liked the story!

Recipe for "make your own ice cream," afterword, sources.

- Age: Primary

- About Augustus Jackson and his road from growing up to making ice cream at the white house and further.

- This would be cool to have in the classroom as students would love to learn about the history of their favorite sweet treat.

Well I get to be the first to review this book on LT, Yay! Found myself with my littlest one in a library and while she was playing I got in some reading on celebrations and found this gem of a book about the Juneteenth celebration. Written from the perspective of a 5rd generation grand daughter whole relates how their family go back to visit with her grandmother every Juneteenth to join in the celebrations of the festival in Galveston. The highlight of which is the tale told by her grandma about her grandmas experience as a slave on the day before freedom came to them in Texas a whole two years after the emancipation proclamation was signed by Lincoln in Washington. The story covers the anticipation that was felt, the emotions of the slaves at the time, followed by the big event the following day when they were freed from slaver and became worker who were paid for their labors. The illustration are beautifully done and lend themselves well to the emotions felt by the slaves and then the unbridled joy and exuberance of finally being free at last like a bird that soars in the sky.

Augustus Jackson was born in 1808 in Philadelphia. While most African Americans were enslaved at that time, in Pennsylvania, slavery was against the law. But while Augustus and his family were free, they were poor, and they depended on their garden and their chickens for food. Augustus enjoyed helping his mom prepare meals for their family. He dreamed of becoming a professional cook, and when his mom suggested he may be able to make meals for the president one day, Augustus didn’t waste any time in making that dream a reality. In 1820, when he was only twelve years old, he set off for Washington, DC. He applied to work in the White House, where the head cook offered him a job as a kitchen helper. After five years of working hard, Augustus, or Gus, was promoted to cook. He went on to serve presidents James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson. During his time at the White House, Augustus became an expert at making a popular egg-based dessert. He soon made an eggless version—known to us today as ice cream—and left the White House determined to make and sell the frozen treat to everyone, not just the wealthy.

Illustrated by Keisha Morris

Subtitle: A Little Story From the Great Migration

This picture book tells an important story of America’s 20th century history, when many Black families left the Southern states in response to restrictions imposed by Jim Crow laws and sought greater opportunity in the North, Midwest or West.

Thelma lives with her parents and twin little sisters in a small town in Louisiana. Each weekend, she “gets onboard the schooltrain” when her cousin Chris, best friend, Ann Marie, and their neighbor, Michael, walk together to school. They make the trek, rain or shine, because the importance of an education is emphasized to the children. So, while the White children ride a bus and go to a new school with new desks and new books, the Black children walk and make do with a dilapidated one-room schoolhouse, old desks and books that are falling apart. But they notice when friends and relatives begin to leave Louisiana for Minnesota or California.

Armand took inspiration from her mother’s own experiences growing up in, and later leaving, Louisiana. While her mother didn’t head for California until she was an adult, Armand’s main character, Thelma, is a child. Thelma notices the trains headed west and likes to imagine where the people are going and what they will do there. She asks questions of her parents and teacher and gets reliable straightforward answers, which help her understand the historic use of the Jim Crow Laws, unfair though they are. But she also learns about Black leaders through history, including Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, and most importantly she learns how vital it is to “keep boarding that schooltrain.”

At the end of the story, the book includes some historical notes, and photographs, about the author’s family, and the history of Jim Crow laws as well as the Great Migration. Definitely worth reading this supplemental information.

Keisha Morris illustrated the work. She uses vibrant colors. I loved the facial expressions; there was such joy and obvious love in this family!

Amazing talent, but kind of a sad life, although I am aware it could have been much worse given the circumstances.

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

Frederick Douglass’ mother imparts 12 lessons, one for each mile she walks on her clandestine nighttime visits to him.

The author has taken as her inspiration the line from Douglass’ writings in which he remembers his mother teaching him that he was “somebody’s child.” Douglass was in fact separated from his mother as an infant and rarely saw her. She died when he was 7. In this story, she walks the 12 miles from plantation to plantation and shares with him what each means. The first mile is for forgetting about being tired, and the following miles are for praying, giving thanks to God, singing, smiling, hoping to live together as a family, dreaming about freedom and loving her son, among others. In this, her debut effort, Armand focuses on the positive aspects of maternal devotion and a mother’s dreams of greatness for her son. The full-page watercolor paintings capture the nighttime setting and depict a loving mother and child with no overt signs of the horrors of slavery. Unfortunately, the text is sometimes difficult to read on the dark background.

Share this with young readers as a series of homilies on dreams and a family love strong enough to overcome any adversity. (afterword) (Picture book. 3-6)

Frederick Douglass’ mother imparts 12 lessons, one for each mile she walks on her clandestine nighttime visits to him.

The author has taken as her inspiration the line from Douglass’ writings in which he remembers his mother teaching him that he was “somebody’s child.” Douglass was in fact separated from his mother as an infant and rarely saw her. She died when he was 7. In this story, she walks the 12 miles from plantation to plantation and shares with him what each means. The first mile is for forgetting about being tired, and the following miles are for praying, giving thanks to God, singing, smiling, hoping to live together as a family, dreaming about freedom and loving her son, among others. In this, her debut effort, Armand focuses on the positive aspects of maternal devotion and a mother’s dreams of greatness for her son. The full-page watercolor paintings capture the nighttime setting and depict a loving mother and child with no overt signs of the horrors of slavery. Unfortunately, the text is sometimes difficult to read on the dark background.

Share this with young readers as a series of homilies on dreams and a family love strong enough to overcome any adversity. (afterword) (Picture book. 3-6)

Lovely. But I would have liked a more thorough ending. Especially since it was based on Frederick Douglass ' life.

great story

The biography of Ira Aldridge is a glimpse of life for African Americans in the early nineteenth century. Ira Aldridge was an African American born free in New York in 1807. The author writes the book in a narrative linear account while paying special attention to the reality of prejudice experienced by Ira and the pain of slavery in the United States. The author's bibliography also reflects several scholarly sources, reassuring the reader that the author completed proper research.
In a timeless conflict, Ira struggles to follow his dream against his father's wishes in order to become a Shakespearean stage actor. With a minor amount of convincing, Ira decides to hop on a ship bound for England where he is able to realize his dream of performing Shakespeare for a living and eventually wins prestigious honors as well as knighthood! Through beautiful illustrations, the author clearly cares about her subject as she writes with passion meant to evoke an emotional response for Ira.

Fredrick lived with his aunt because his mother was a slave, and worked on a farm 12 miles away from her. He lived with the aunt because his mother could not watch after him and work on the farm all day. Each night, Fredrick's mother walked the twelve long miles to see Fredrick. He explained to her that he could walk and see her, but she told him that the road was too long and that she knew the short way. Fredrick wanted to the know the short way, and so his mother explained it to him. Each mile she thought of something different. Her thoughts ranged from Fredrick to the hope for freedom, but each mile she thought of something else. She walked those twelve miles though for the love she had for her son, and the excitement to see him.Fredrick was sure that his mother had a love for him that was twelve miles long.

This was such a sweet book that described a mother's love for her son. Illustrations in the book depicted real characteristics of characters, and also scenes of farm work. The text mentions some conditions of slavery, which good make this a good text to use for social studies. The afterword explains that this story was inspired by Fredrick Douglass, who has made many contributions to American history.

As a boy Ira Aldridge fell in love with the theater and especially the plays of William Shakespeare. From high in the balcony he caught every performance that he could. Occasionally he would act them out for his schoolmates He dreamed of becoming an actor. His father and his teacher, however saw that an extremely dubious career path, especially for an African American at that time. So when he grew up he left his native New York for Europe where he became one of the leading Shakespearean actors of the century, notable for his roles of Macbeth, King Lear, Richard III, and Othello.

In her author’s note at the start of the book, Armand states:

This story is true to the known facts of Ira Aldridge’s life and the realities of society during the time he lived. However in crafting this biography, I included some imagined scenes, people, thoughts and dialog. These parts of the story are dramatic extensions of historically documented events and interactions.

Since this is a technique freely and frequently employed by Aldridge’s favorite playwright, it’s hard to imagine that the subject would be displeased by it. In addition to Armand’s dramatic biography, Cooper’s distinctive oil wash paintings capture the pathos and grandeur of Aldridge’s performances, helping to translate the glamour of the stage onto the page. This is an excellent performance, deserving of multiple curtain calls for the author and artist.

As a young boy, Ira Aldridge was entranced by a production of Hamlet, and it spurred his desire to become a Shakespearean actor. Although his classmates and visitors were impressed by Ira’s talent in a performance at the African Free School, his teacher discouraged his goal: “You dream too big for a colored boy.” Ira’s father also discouraged him, wanting his son to enroll in ministry school. Ira defied his father’s wishes and, inspired by two actors, went to England in 1824 at the age of 17. His path was not easy but after years of study and persevering, he rose to fame and fortune. Cooper’s magnificent muted illustrations in his signature style of oil wash and kneaded erasures are a perfect complement to the inspiring text.

Poignant, beasutifully illustrated story based on the life of young Frederick Douglass.

Based on a true story of Frederick Davis' childhood. A mother who is a slave on another plantation, walks twelve miles each night to see her son. Each mile is a reflection of her journey.

A touching story based on the life of Frederick Douglass. His mother details her 12 mile walk to visit him and explains how she makes it through each mile. My heart was touched reading this and seeing how difficult a time it was for mothers to be separated from children and the distances they had to go to visit with them. This book could be used for Black History Month, Mother's Day, slavery, or a number of other things.

This is an amazing story story based on the childhood of Frederick Douglass. When Frederick was young, he and his mother were separated because of slavery. As Douglass wrote in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass:

"It is a common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very early age. Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month, its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off, and the child is placed under the care of an old woman, too old for field labor. For what this separation is done, I do not know, unless it be to hinder the development of the child's affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child. This is the inevitable result."

But Frederick’s mother was different. Whenever she could, after working hard in the fields all day, she trudged the twelve miles to see Frederick, and then had to walk back again to be ready to work at sun-up. It was her love of her son and dreams of freedom that kept her going.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful, expertly conveying the love and warmth between mother and son.

This powerful testament to a mother's love and a slave's dedication to the dream of freedom is not to be missed!

Note: Lee & Low identifies the interest level for this book as "Grades 1 - 6," but don't let that deter you adults from reading it. My husband and I both loved it and found it truly inspirational!

This was a beautiful book. It is the story of young Frederick Douglas. His mother lived twelve miles away and walked to visit him. He asked her about each mile. She tells him the first mile is for forgetting, the second is for remembering, the third is for listening. The fourth mile is for looking up, the fifth is for wondering, the sixth is for praying, the seventh is for singing, the eighth is for smiling, the ninth is for giving thanks. The tenth mile is for hoping, the eleventh is for dreaming and the twelfth is for love.

If you want to know what exactly they are dreaming and remembering and forgetting then read the book. It is no wonder Frederick Douglas grew up to be the man he was. With a mother with such high hopes and dreams for her son he could do nothing less.

Any family that has a parent that is far away will appreciate this book, as well young students that need to read historical non-fiction. This picture book is about the relationship between young Fredrick Douglass and his mother. Fredrick's mother is a slave, and hence lives far away from him and cannot see him all the time, since she must work hard in the fields all day long. Still, whenever she can, she walks the twelve miles and back to the house where he says with his aunt. She claims that this distance isn't long for her, because she spends each mile doing something different to prepare herself to see him; forgetting her hardships, thanking god for her family, remembering happy things, and so on.

This book, which is done in watercolor in somewhat muted colors, would be an excellent addition to a library both as historical fiction and because it is about a long distance relationship between a mother and son. There are many families where one family member cannot be present all of the time, and being able to think of the miles between children and parents as chances for reflection and joy could be a good way to explain distance.½