Addy's Surprise

My third grade granddaughter is finding the series to be of historical significance and, at least, bearable. At eight years of age, she knew only a smattering about slavery and its impact on families. She knew a little about the Underground Railroad, but learned what it really was. Thse little books make the era seem more real to her. Addy's Surprise brings together some realities of African Americans growing up just after the Civil War in foreign territory, the heartache of separation, learning how to cope, the hope of tomorrow, the reality that not all white people supported slavery and the fact that "freedom" had its problems. It has a positive,though realistic, ending. The reader is left wanting more. The Looking back and Looking forward features keep the reader engaged. My granddaughter cannot wait to see if her prediction that the family will be united comes true.

The book I am reviewing is "Addy's Surprise," written by Connie Porter. I think this book deserves five stars because it was the best book I ever read. This book is about a girl named Addy who escaped from slavery in 1864. She's living in an apartment above a dress shop that her mother works in. Before Christmas Addy sees a red scarf in a store window that she wants to get her mom for Christmas. To earn money, Addy delivers dresses from her mother's store and keeps the tips. When Addy gets home from school one day, she sees the jar full of money her mother and her have been saving to buy a lamp. Here mother really needs the lamp to sew clothes. Addy decides to put all her tip money in the jar. Then one day, a woman with a young girl walk into the shop and the woman gave back a beautiful dress that Addy's mother worked so hard on to make and says that it was too small, so Addy's mother took it back. The next day, when Addy was in the shop and her mother was in there apartment, Addy sees a long piece of red trimming that she could make into a scarf. Addy worked all that day to make the trimming a scarf. On Christmas Addy's mother gave her the beautiful dress and Addy gave her the scarf she made. They wore their new clothes to church and after church when all the kids were watching a shadow play Addy saw a familiar shadow peeking through the door. Read the book to see who Addy's "surprise" is!

I never can quite pick a favorite American Girls character, but I think Addy's Christmas Story is my favorite of those. I think the selflessness she shows (as does her friend Sarah) throughout the story is a wonderful example of Christian love in action.

This is another in the American Girls series about Addy Walker, a ten-year-old African-American girl living in the America of 1864. With Christmas coming up, Addy spots the perfect gift for her mother, a bright red scarf. However, when their church puts out a plea for money for those arriving from slavery with nothing but the clothes on their backs, Addy and her mother decide that their money should go to those less fortunate. In this book Addy learns a lesson on giving and receiving, and hope.The final chapter is a look at Christmas for African-American children in the America of 1864. This is another great Addy book, with a great lesson and a moving story. My daughter loves this book, and yours will too.

Addy, an escaped slave, lives during hard times with her escaped mother. She wants Christmas to be happy. Will Christmas be a disappointment? Will they find Sam and Poppa, who were sold before Addy and her mother escaped, or Addy's baby sister, whom they had to leave behind? Get the questions answered in this beautiful tale of hope in hard times.