Reviews for Alec's primer

The average rating for Alec's primer based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-11-17 00:00:00 Sandra Howard Alec is a slave whose mistress, young Miss Zephie, is teaching him something forbidden--how to read. I loved the story, though I thought it was told a bit awkwardly. It didn't flow just right. And, while Alec is 5 when the story starts, toward the end of the story he is "old enough to be free", but we don't know how old. I think the passage of time wasn't made clear, and that's what interrupted the flow. I also wasn't fond of the illustrations. It's based on the true story of Alec Turner, a slave who ran away and joined the Union Army during the Civil War. Eventually he ended up in Vermont, where the primer he learned from was passed down to his daughter. There is a photo of the Alec Turner at the back of the book. I enjoyed the story, but not how it was told or the pictures. The information at the back about the real Alec saved it for me. Very interesting.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-07-17 00:00:00 Boyd Marshall I first grabbed this book off the shelf while looking at picture books for another class. Since my name is in the title, I wanted to read it. The book turned out to be interesting because it is based on a true story. The Vermont Folklife Center has a series of children's books that are based on real Americans. This book discusses the subject of slavery and literacy. I think it would be great for the classroom because it gives an individual's true story of life as a child slave. There is information and pictures on the real Alec Turner at the end of the book.