I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865 (Dear America Series)

by Joyce Hansen

Overview

Joyce Hansen's Coretta Scott King Honor Book I THOUGHT MY SOUL WOULD RISE AND FLY is now back in print with a gorgeous new package!Patsy, an orphaned slave with a bad leg and a quiet nature, is considered slow by the Davis family. But Patsy's smart -- smart enough to learn to read and write on the sly. After the Civil War ends and slavery is abolished, Patsy believes Master Davis's promise to pay the former house slaves and to educate the slave children. But when the master ignores his promise to establish a school and the Freedmen's Bureau cannot provide a teacher, Patsy steps in to teach the students to read and write.Patsy's diary is filled with courage, conviction, and hope as she strives toward her freedom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545389006
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2011
Series:	Dear America Series
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	453,145
Lexile:	820L (what's this?)
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Joyce Hansen has been writing books and stories for children and young adults for over twenty years. She grew up with two younger brothers and her parents in an extended family that included aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, all living in the Bronx, New York. For many years Ms. Hansen was a New York City public school teacher. She has since retired and presently lives with her husband in South Carolina, where she writes full-time.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8--Set in the days following the Civil War, this novel, written in diary format, traces the thoughts, feeling, and events in the life of 12-year-old Patsy. Like many of the other freed slaves, Patsy remains at Davis Hall plantation to work for her former master for wages. As a joke, she had been given a blank book by Mrs. Davis's niece. Patsy, however, has secretly learned to read and write and now this diary serves as companion as she questions what freedom means, comments on the former slaves as they leave the plantation, wonders what will become of her (a disabled orphan), and writes of her hope to be a teacher. Hansen describes a time not often covered and, in doing so, increases understanding of the Reconstruction period. She never loses sight of the story, however, delivering enough suspense to keep her plot moving. An epilogue, historical note, reproductions of photos, words and music to "Free at Last," a gingerbread recipe, and maps round out the book.--Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

School Library Journal

The life of a black girl during the period of Reconstruction is depicted through the thoughts, fears, and observations recorded by Patsy in her secret diary. From the giggles of her high spirits to her softer tones when she mentions the man she has a crush on to her sadness and fear as so many of her “family” leave the plantation, Sisi Johnson perfectly nuances Patsy’s hidden emotional life and mirrors her day-to-day existence as the world she knows falls apart all around her. Hope and excitement build, and are dashed, as so many of the promises that are made during Reconstruction are never brought to fruition. What, Patsy wonders, does freedom mean in a South left shattered by the Civil War? W.L.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

FEB/MAR 07 - AudioFile