Hester BassRezensionen

Beautifully told story of the journey to integrate Huntsville, Alabama. I liked the even-handed treatment of the people of Huntsville, showing both the good and bad they did in the process, and the way that it centers the amazing activism work of the black community.

This book tells the story of Walter Anderson who loved to create art. He lived in Mississippi and would go to an island to paint. He wrote about what he experienced on Horn island and would draw and paint the animal friends he made on the island. Walter Anderson also had a room that was filled with art. There is a theme of adventure and dedication to doing what one loves to do. The book has well done and beautiful illustrations that make the book stand out. This would be a great book for 2nd and 3rd graders.

This is one of the best illustrated books I've read regarding the Civil Rights movement in the United States. The writing is lovely, with powerful phrases that are repeated for effect.

While Birmingham, Alabama was notorious as the most hatefilled stated, nicknamed "Bombingham, Alabama," Huntsville peacefully integrated their schools, and signs were taken down regarding "Whites Only."

After reading many books regarding the civil rights movement, I discovered something new. Black people were not allowed to try on shoes. They had to bring a paper cut out of their feet for the size of the shoe.

Huntsville, was home of the space program. Known as the "Space Center of the Universe," Rockets built to transport people to the moon, were built along side cotton fields.
There were tests of students sitting in seats at lunch counters, but unlike other cities, when arrests occurred, the signs of protest signs said "I ordered a Hamburger, The serve me a warrant!" Seeds of freedom were planted.

Martin Luther King spoke in Huntsville, but it was not reported in the newspapers. The seeds of freedom needed attention to grow.

Easter time was a booming sales time for stores. When non whites refused to buy their Easter finery at the stores, it was an incredible financial blow.

Instead of pretty dresses, and fine suits, the non white people decided to go to church in jeans. This was known as Blue Jean Sunday.

When the notorious hate filled governor George Wallace, mandated that whites and blacks be separated everywhere, the black members of Huntsville, decided to spend the day in the all white park. The children slid down the slides, and they rode on the Merry-Go Round!

The people had a different message than that of hate. Filling balloons as they rode in the front of the court house and released the balloons that carried a message inside. "Please support freedom in Huntsville!!!!"

Huntsville is a prosperous, proud and peaceful place Thus the mayor advocated for freedom and peace. President Kennedy visited Huntsville to advocate for freedom. Knowing that a great deal of money was at stake, he knew that if Huntsville was known as a hateful city, the government might not want to fund the space program.

Four black Huntsville families advocate for the right for their children to go to schools where white student attend. Four students went into the white school. As the hands reach the doors, they feel no movement of opening. The doors are locked.

Then, a miracle occurs, across town, a private religious school with all black students, welcome whites Twelve white students enter a door that is unlocked! This action became known as the
reverse integration in Huntsville schools.

I re read this book three times. The power of the writing and the events that occurred peacefully in Huntsville, seemed to sprout seeds of freedom.

There was no Bull Connor spewing hate-filled bigotry. There were no German Shepard dogs biting children who were plastered with hoses of water that splayed the children against the walls of buildings.

In Huntsville, seeds were planted, and they grew!

Th is story describes the life of eccentric naturalist/painter Walter Anderson, best known for his watercolors of the uninhabited Horn Island, o the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. e illustrations capture the tranquility of his existence and his art

This is about the state of Alabama and the way they had to fight discrimination by doing protests and sit-ins in a peaceful way. They didn’t give up and stayed peaceful until eventually slowly and slowly they would get victories. E.B Lewis made this story very realistic which I feel is his style of illustrating we can see how tense it was in situations where the colored people would be in a restaurant and the white people would give them ugly looks. We could feel as if we were there and understand what it looks like to be a colored person during a time that discrimination was very bad.

This book was a wonderful read. It was age appropriate and talked all about the integration of Alabama during the days of segregation. This book touched on the Woolworths sit-in and the state having to let the first African American child into the all white public school. This book hit on so many historic events including Martin Luther King Jr and his speech, How all the African Americans quit buying nice clothes in town and wore pants to church so that the local economy would notice that their purchases matter too.

This book is a biography of the painter Walter Anderson. It tells of how he lived and painted in his adult life. He loved going to an island to be alone and paint, even though he had to row 12 miles to get there. The book is illustrated with lovely watercolors which is apt, because Anderson primarily painted in watercolor.

This book is about the Civil Rights Movement in Huntsville, Alabama. The people of Huntsville used civil, creative ways to encourage change in their town and their schools. They slowly started to integrate races towards one another, breaking down the segregation walls.

Walter Anderson a famous artist who was famous for his watercolor creations. This book would be a good opportunity for children to learn who Walter Anderson is. This could be a good book to use when discussing and or learning about art. Since Walter was more famous for his watercolor paintings, this book could really help children see examples of watercolors and other art he had done.

During his frequent visits along to Horn Island, Walter Anderson created many beautiful paintings and other art. He often interacted with the animals there, getting close to them and their homes to get a better look. There is evidence of research in the bibliography at the back of the book as well as the plethora of facts sprinkled throughout the story of Walter Anderson's life.
Medium: watercolor

I wasn't very familiar with Walter Anderson when I picked up his book. He lived as a bit of a hermit, spending so much time on the secluded Horn Island, which he reached by boat. The main book lists out his adventures on the island, while there is a biography in the back that actually lists out his life and art. Regrettably, the art in the book is more akin to traditional picture book watercolor than it resembles Anderson's art, which may have been a nice tribute.

A really great non-fiction picture book! The incidents told about are real and written about beautifully. I would absolutely use this book in my classroom during lessons about the Civil Rights Movement. The illustrations are great and the detail to the text helps tell this moving true story.

I would read this story to children before doing a nature activity outside to teach them how to become aware of the stillness around them.

The Secret World of Walter Anderson tells the true story of a young artist who uses the world around him to create beautiful paintings. His life was dedicated to art and to nature. He would often spend weeks alone on an empty island, called horn island. Walter Anderson is one of America's most famous artist.

Do things have to be "just the way they are?" Planting little seeds for freedom, or anything in general, do have a powerful impact. This is a great book to do with a Civil Rights lesson.

This book is about changes being made to get away from segregation in Alabama. The world around them was keeping people of color separated from everyone else. This was quite a serious story for a picture book but it is important for the students to learn about real issue that have gone on in our past. This would be a great book to teach a lesson on segregation and equal rights. Although it may not be a happy subject its apart of our history and important to learn so that things like segregation are not to happen again.

The Secret World of Walter Anderson is a picture book biography written by Hester Bass and illustrated by E. B. Lewis. It is a very brief chapter book recommended for ages 8-12 years old. It is 48 pages long. It tells about the life of the artist Walter Anderson and depicts some of his work. He loved nature and spent long solitary hours, much on an uninhabited island, Horn Island, observing nature and creating art. His art has completely captivated me and I am thankful that Hester Bass decided to write a book about this mostly unknown artist. This book is the winner of the Orbis Pictus Award. The illustrations by E. B. Hess are wonderful and are done in watercolor.

Used for a discussion post

"Seeds of Freedom" is about the non-violent movement away form segregation that was taking place during the civil rights movement. While the rest of the world was moving slowly towards change, government officials were being placed in office to maintain this separation of races. Although a slightly heavy read for students it truly captures the events of the time as well as the emotions of the people. This book sparks a wide discuss within the classroom and would be great to use doing Black History Month.

I really like this book for all its historical accuracy, and for being a call of action to end prejudice and things that are happening that aren't o.k. I learned some things I didn't know, or just hadn't hear in a long time and I found that really interesting. I feel like this is heavy topic for young children but it is important to teach young.

Genre: Informational
Why it fits this genre:
-It presents accurate facts about the Mississippi artist Walter Anderson

I would use this book to:
1. present students to informational books.
2. present students to Walter Anderson and his art.

Summary: This book talks about Walter Anderson, a man from Mississippi who would go to the Horn Island on his boat and paint nature.

Media: watercolor

Critique: "The Secret World of Walter Anderson" Is a good example of an informational book because it presents accurate information about Walter Anderson. The illustrations also portray an accurate image of what the island Anderson when to was like and what his room looked like.

This was an outstanding book. It told the real story of racial integration in Huntsville, Alabama. Apparently, Huntsville was the site of the first integrated public school and the first "revers-integrated" private school in Alabama. What I found the most interesting was the author's note. This explained, in chronological order some of the major events of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950-60's. Sometimes, I think that these stories are told without chronological order that students (and adults) get the timing all mixed up. This book also talked about some of the less popular stories of the Civil Rights movement such as Blue Jean Sunday and the balloon release with the message "Please Support Freedom in Huntsville". Curricular Connections: One person can make a difference Civil Rights movement, Black History Month.

"Seeds of Freedom" tells the story of many of the events that occurred in Huntsville, Alabama during the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., segregation, and peaceful protest are all mentioned in this book.

A fascinating bio of famous painter Walter Anderson. Previously unknown to me, I found his life very interesting and the illustrations were excellent.

Love the paintings in this book! I also loved the author's note at the back that gave more of a description of his life and also about his artwork. Interesting to note that much of his artwork was destroyed with Hurricane Katrina. Would love to use this book in our biographies unit.

#biography
#artist