Title: Maritcha A Nineteenth-Century American Girl
Author: Tonya Bolden
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publishing Year:2005
Genre: Children Non-Fiction
Horn Book Rating: 2
Summary: Maritcha is the story of the life of Maritcha, a black girl, who overcame many challenges life brought her to be the first black person to graduate from providence High. Maritcha became a teacher and wrote a memoir.
Summary of Professional Reviews: This story is full of rich and and detailed facts. Not everything is know about Maritcha, but Tonya Bolden does an excellent job of putting the pieces together and giving example of what might have been. This story is a good interpretation of what it was like for a black child in the nineteenth-century.
Review by Jane Fuscellaro: Maritcha is a beautiful story that takes you back in time to the nineteenth-century. The images help 4th graders or adults who read this understand and visualize the time period, allowing us to better understand it. The text of this book is well done. For things Bolden does not know, she makes sure to say "This is what it would be like", not saying this is exactly what it was for Maritcha.
This book would be useful when teaching…
This book would be helpful when teaching about the Nineteenth-century and about race. It fully understand this time period, it can be hard for some children to completely understand and grasp the whole image of segregation and being poor. Therefore when a teacher read this story to the class or students read it they can better visualize the time period. It is a longer read, therefore I would have student read different sections then all get together and share them with one another.