It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thank you as always to Jen and Kellee of Teachmentortexts.com. I ordered Crow by Barbara Wright several weeks ago because Colby Sharp reviewed it on one of his linked posts. What a powerful book on so many levels!

Crow is about an African American family living in North Carolina in the late nineteenth century. I have read many historical fiction books about the Civil Rights Movement but not much about the more immediate post-Civil War era. In many ways, this book reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of my all-time favorite books to read and re-read. Moses, the main character, has an educated and highly principled father who teaches him about character, democracy, and leadership and a grandmother who was a slave and teaches him about traditions, common sense, culture, and resilience. There are many opportunities for weighty discussions about right vs. right decisions, different types of intelligences, and the importance of independent thinking.

I really can't say enough about this book as a lens into a disturbing part of American history and as a springboard to discuss important 21st century values. Moses, his parents, and his amazing grandmother are characters that will stay with me for a long, long time--perhaps even taking seats with Scout, Atticus, and Jem in my literary world.