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A review by emilyusuallyreading
A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia 1859 by Patricia C. McKissack
4.0
What I Liked
Clotee is a strong and believable character. Her transformation over the course of the pages is stunning. At the beginning of the story, she hears the tale of David and Goliath or Daniel in the lion's den - and she wonders if she could ever be brave enough to face a giant or a lion. And she is brave.
A Picture of Freedom is a great format to help students relate to what life would be like as a slave. Working through holidays, marrying by command instead of by love, and being forced to live without even the slightest form of education. Clotee lives with no freedom and she cannot even conjure up an image of what that might look like in her mind. Her mother was sold away from her when she was a small child. She is not even allowed to learn to swim.
The suspense and tension is crafted throughout this novel better than in many of the Dear America diaries. From page one there is the realization that if anyone ever realizes that Clotee can read and write, she will be beaten and sent away to the Deep South. This was an easy read as well as thought-provoking.
I also loved Clotee's realizations of the people around her. Miz Lilly is such a fascinating character.
What I Didn't Like
At times the premise seemed a little stretched. While I loved the idea that Clotee learned to read by fanning William during his school sessions, the idea that she managed to steal enough ink to keep a daily diary for over a year didn't quite ring true.
Clotee is a strong and believable character. Her transformation over the course of the pages is stunning. At the beginning of the story, she hears the tale of David and Goliath or Daniel in the lion's den - and she wonders if she could ever be brave enough to face a giant or a lion. And she is brave.
A Picture of Freedom is a great format to help students relate to what life would be like as a slave. Working through holidays, marrying by command instead of by love, and being forced to live without even the slightest form of education. Clotee lives with no freedom and she cannot even conjure up an image of what that might look like in her mind. Her mother was sold away from her when she was a small child. She is not even allowed to learn to swim.
The suspense and tension is crafted throughout this novel better than in many of the Dear America diaries. From page one there is the realization that if anyone ever realizes that Clotee can read and write, she will be beaten and sent away to the Deep South. This was an easy read as well as thought-provoking.
I also loved Clotee's realizations of the people around her. Miz Lilly is such a fascinating character.
What I Didn't Like
At times the premise seemed a little stretched. While I loved the idea that Clotee learned to read by fanning William during his school sessions, the idea that she managed to steal enough ink to keep a daily diary for over a year didn't quite ring true.