More Than Anything Else

Posted By: Techknowledge Admin

by Marie Bradby; illus. Chris K. Soentpiet The spare, lovely narrative of this picture book, based on the childhood of Booker T. Washington, is in the voice of a nine-year-old boy. He tells of leaving his cabin before dark to work all day shoveling salt with his father and older brother: “All day long we shovel it, but it refuses to grow smaller.” Despite the community’s poverty and toil, there’s a sense of freedom now, something different: “All people are free to go where they want and do what they can.” What Booker wants is to read. Finally, he finds someone to teach him his letters, and it’s as if he’s reborn. ~ Booklist Review