Alec's Primer

An excellent multicultural book written by Mildred Pitts Walter is Alec’s Primer. It describes the life of a slave boy named Alec. He is poorly mistreated, yet his owner’s granddaughter befriends him and teaches him how to read. This girl, Zephie, gives Alec a book called a primer to assist his reading. Soon Alec hears about union soldiers coming to town to recruit slaves to fight for the north in the Civil War. Alec joins up and soon becomes a free man.

This book describes the life of Alec very well as a slave, and doesn’t try and sugar coat his life. It talks about how the boy is worked hard, physically abused, and threatened with death. However, I would highly recommend this book as it shows the compassion of Zephie and the power reading has. This book is great multicultural and historical fiction.

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins is a multicultural book by Carole Boston Weatherford. This book described the life of eight-year-old Connie who’s brother and sister join the NAACP and partake in sit-ins and picketing.

The book describes from a young child’s perspective, the sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Alabama. The book also tells how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. comes down to make a speech for the civil rights movement.

This book was well-written and be a great way to discuss the lives of African-Americans during the 1960s. The age range on this is probably second to third grade.