Meet Claudie(American Girl: Claudie #1)
August 23, 2022 by American Girl Publishing
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Claudie Wells live in Harlem in the 1920s. Her mother is a news reporter who is often called to cover stories for the Amsterdam News, and her father, who was in the Harlem Hellfighters during WWI, works at Angelo's Bakery. They live in a boarding house run by Miss Amelia that is filled with a colorful array of performers and other Black citizens. Claudie isn't quite sure where her talents lie, and spends the summer discovering her talents. Her brother, Jody, is very interested in the Lincoln Giants, a Negro League baseball team. When Miss Amelia recieves an eviction notice, Claudie decides that instead of just having a rent party for people to contribute to pay the $100 owed, she will have the residents put on a show. She doesn't want to lose her home, especially since her father suffers from his experiences in the way. When her mother has to go Georgia for work, Claudie looks forward to traveling with her and learns a little about the Great Migration that brought her family, and many other Blacks, to Harlem. The next book in the series, Adventures with Claudie, covers this trip.
August 23, 2022 by American Girl Publishing
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Claudie Wells live in Harlem in the 1920s. Her mother is a news reporter who is often called to cover stories for the Amsterdam News, and her father, who was in the Harlem Hellfighters during WWI, works at Angelo's Bakery. They live in a boarding house run by Miss Amelia that is filled with a colorful array of performers and other Black citizens. Claudie isn't quite sure where her talents lie, and spends the summer discovering her talents. Her brother, Jody, is very interested in the Lincoln Giants, a Negro League baseball team. When Miss Amelia recieves an eviction notice, Claudie decides that instead of just having a rent party for people to contribute to pay the $100 owed, she will have the residents put on a show. She doesn't want to lose her home, especially since her father suffers from his experiences in the way. When her mother has to go Georgia for work, Claudie looks forward to traveling with her and learns a little about the Great Migration that brought her family, and many other Blacks, to Harlem. The next book in the series, Adventures with Claudie, covers this trip.
Strengths: When I started working in my school library in 2002, there were a handful of the original American Girl books about Molly McIntire, Kit Kittredge, Samantha Parkington, Addy Walker, the Black character who was released in 1993 and represented the Civil War era. At the time, my students didn't read the books because they were short (about 100 pages), and were very formulaic. Different characters all had the same story lines, which incorporated historical information. Now, this length and level of complexity would probably work well for my students. I was glad to see that Claudie's story was generally happy, but that the racial issues of the time were addressed. I would love to see a novel set in a Black community in 1919, the "Red Summer". Our middle school history courses only cover the time period up to the end of the Civil War, so there is not a lot taught about Civil Rights after the Civil War. There are so many interesting stories, and this gave an interesting look at life in Harlem in the 1920s.
Weaknesses: The story is a little light on plot; this happens when a story arc is spread over several books. I'm unsure how my students feel about American Girl.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like historical fiction like Cline-Ransom's Finding Langston, Curtis' The Might Miss Malone, or Daley's If the Fire Comes.
Weaknesses: The story is a little light on plot; this happens when a story arc is spread over several books. I'm unsure how my students feel about American Girl.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like historical fiction like Cline-Ransom's Finding Langston, Curtis' The Might Miss Malone, or Daley's If the Fire Comes.
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