Crow (291 Pages)

Barbara Wright has written a novel that combines fictional characters with real historical events. The book takes place in the late 1800's in Wilmington, North Carolina. The main character, Moses Thomas and his family are facing the  progress and the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation. His father, a newspaper reporter has been elected as an alderman to the town's governing body. Moses experiences fun and games amid constant racial prejudice. His grandmother was a slave and she is constantly using her superstitions and homemade medicines. Moses straddles the line between wanting to treat her with respect while at the same time unwilling to go along with her superstitious ideas. Moses becomes a witness to the Wilmington Race Riot that changed his life. Both boys and girls will enjoy this book, and I hope they will read the notes at the end of the book. These notes explain the many parts of the book that are true as well as people who were really part of the story. The idea of using an historical event(s) and writing a narrative adding made up characters strikes me as a wonderful social studies/ language arts collaborative unit!