“Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.” Colossians 4:1
This week in school we have been doing our best to get our work done so we can read. The book I read to Mellie this week was one I enjoyed in MY childhood. The original title was Cowslip (that is the copy I owned). Most know it as Slave Girl by Betsy Haynes.
Goodreads is a great website to find reviews on books and this is their description of the book.
Cowslip is on the auction block. The year is 1861, and the Civil War has begun, but it means little to a frightened black girl still at the mercy of whites. An old slave at her former home has taught her magic spells to use against the cruel master, who in his heartlessness had given Cowslip her very name as a mean joke. But all those spells are no good to her now.
In her new home Cowslip is put in charge of the Master’s children. She soon makes many new friends, among them Job, who is educated and had once been free, and Reba, whose lover has run away to the North. These people dream of freedom and dare to speak of forbidden things. Through them Cowslip becomes involved in frightening and dangerous activities she does not fully understand.
Some might say – IS this a book for a 10 year old? The book is written in a format for early teens and there is nothing untoward in it. Mellie is being raised with old parents and adult siblings. I find her ability to understand big words etc. quite good.
This book did not disappoint us in how it moved along at a good pace, kept us on our toes and in suspense, and left us wanting more. Although it is a mite disappointing not to carry on the tale of Cowslip, it is leading us to explore other books on the same subject.
Children even as young as 10 can read about our country’s hardest moments and learn from them. History is so important not only for our Christianity but our country and our families. Without history, story-telling would be negated and we would be doomed to repeat mistakes of the past having never learned from them.
With that in mind, I want us to read next a great book by Barbara Smucker called, “Underground to Canada.” This will help Mellie understand further how slaves were able to escape from the deep south and make it all the way to the north.