The wagon Book

The watercolor illustrations are gorgeous, but there isn't much of a story to "Wagon". It's about an African American boy who is born into slavery and dreams about freedom. His father builds a wagon for their master, and the boy spends day and night daydreaming about being free (like riding a glorious chariot to freedom or being like a bug with split wings). The story focuses mostly on the boys feelings, but it's redundant and becomes a bit wearisome after a while. Some of the working realities are glimpsed at as he is whipped by an overseer for weeping an old man is whipped, but it would've been better if more examples like this were provided so the reader could better understand why the boy wants to be free. The ending is a bit anti-climatic with the book suddenly announcing that Lincoln set the slaves free (with no reference to the Civil War) and the slaves being happy and singing together and riding the wagon they built to freedom. Overall, 3 stars for good illustrations and some good glimpses into slavery but loses 2 stars due to lack of story and for being a bit too superficial about the realities of slavery.