Meet Addy Sacrifice

Meet Addy: Appropriate for Second Grade?
Meet Addy follows the story of a young girl and her family, who are bound in slavery during the American Civil War. Addy's family is planning to escape, but before they can do so her brother and father are sold to a different owner. Addy and her mother risk everything and run away from the plantation, traveling north to Philadelphia, in the hopes of reuniting with Addy's brother and father. When their very lives are at risk should they be caught, what gets them through is love for each other and the desire for freedom.
Meet Addy is a simple and straightforward story about a girl and her family wanting to be free, and how the love of her family helps in attaining that goal. The intended age group of the

book is labeled as 8 and up. Although the book is set during the American Civil War, the book doesn't contain heavy themes--such as political or sociological--that would go over a child's head. References to the Civil War itself are minimal; the main focus is on slavery and how it affects Addy's family.
Slavery, in reality, was a horror.

In Meet Addy, depictions of violence are kept to a minimum but they are not glossed over. There are three references to people being whipped. The first is Addy's brother when he tried to run away from the plantation: Addy also gets whipped:. These two instances help portray the cruelty of the slave master without delving deeper into the pain and suffering caused. Seven and eight year olds should be able to glean the cruelty of slavery just from these instances, while still shielding them from the reality of the atrocities committed. Considering the amount of violence in other media intended for the same age range, this is minimal in

comparison.
The heart of Meet Addy is Addy herself. Addy is a strong and capable protagonist, who is unwaveringly devoted to her family. The love her family shares for each member is what keeps them strong in the face of overwhelming adversity and hardship. During their escape, Addy's Momma reminds her that love is. Her desire to be free is a key element in her determination to keep going, as well as the hope she has of being reunited with her brother and father. Addy's mother also teachers her a valuable lesson:. Love is the reason the family managed to last as long as they have despite the enormity of the situation. In this instance, love is Addy's fuel source that keeps her going, not hatred for slave-owners.
The end of the book contains a section called Looking Back: America in 1864 and discusses the true history of slavery in America during the Civil War.

It discusses how Africans were captured and forced into servitude, how they were sold to work on plantations, their living conditions, and how they were punished. It covers the abolishment of slavery in the North, President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and the secession of the southern states over slavery which started the Civil War. Most importantly, it covers how abolitionists like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas and others established the Underground Railroad in order to help slaves find a way to the north where they could live free from the shackles of

slavery.
The topics at the end of the book are covered gently so that the intended audience will be able to comprehend them, using Addy's family as a reference point to help make the history relatable and grounded in something they can understand. For example: and. There are also many pictures and several charts to help children better understand the material.
Meet Addy is appropriate for seven and eight year olds in second grade. All in all, parents concerned that the book is in appropriate for their child need not worry. Addy is a strong protagonist that readers can root for, and she has courage and devotion that even adults can look up to. The book is set during a dark point in American History, but that simply makes it all the more important for children to understand. The story alone does a simple job of explaining an overview of the era and what was going on in the South without getting into too much detail. It the child wants to know more about the period, the supplemental section of Looking Back will provide them with an interesting history lesson.