Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

By Tonya Bolden

Book Overview

Discover the remarkable story of a free Black girl born during the days of slavery in this Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winning picture book

"To do the best for myself with the view of making the best of myself," wrote Maritcha R mond Lyons (1848--1929) about her childhood.

Based on an unpublished memoir written by Lyons, who was born and raised in New York City, this poignant story tells what it was like to be a Black child born free during the days of slavery. Everyday experiences are interspersed with notable moments, such as a visit to the first world's fair held in the United States. Also included are the Draft Riots of 1863, during which Maritcha and her siblings fled to Brooklyn while her parents stayed behind to protect their Manhattan home. The book concludes with her fight to attend a whites-only high school in Providence, Rhode Island, and her victory of being the first Black graduate.

The evocative text, photographs, and archival material make this book an invaluable cultural and historical resource. Maritcha brings to life the story of a very ordinary--yet remarkable--girl of nineteenth-century America.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1419716263
• ISBN13: 9781419716263
• Release Date: March 2015
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 56 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 9.9" x 9.8"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Marticha

I read the book Marticha was a great book. I thought the story was the best. It really put me in her place. I loved this book and I hope that many kids read this in the future. Marticha was a very touching story. While reading the book I realized she was luckier than most African American people.

Changes for Maritcha

Credit publisher Harry N. Abrams, Inc. with a brilliant bit of promotional packaging. You want to put out a non-fiction book for children about an African-American girl growing up in mid-1800s Manhattan. Now you want this to be the kind of book that catches the eye. The book that really makes your average kid sit up and take notice. For certain kinds of girls (I don't like to be sexist about this, but this is probably how the promotional department saw the situation) historical works of non-fiction and fiction can be summed up best in two words: American Girl. I'm sure you're familiar with the American Girl franchise. You know, the dolls that got their own literary series with titles like "Meet Samantha" and "Kaya Saves the Day". American Girl books are difficult to keep on bookstore and library shelves. They fairly fly off. There was even a spin-off series of non-fiction facts with titles like, "Felicity's World", where the girl featured was shown in a big picture on the cover of the book. Do you see where I'm going with this? Harry N. Abrams, Inc. undoubtedly took note of this trend and when "Maritcha" was published, it showed a big beautiful picture of her on the cover with the subtitle, "A Nineteenth-Century American Girl". And you know what? It works like gangbusters. If I stand this book up on top of a library shelf, "Maritcha" is clutched in the hot little hands of an American Girl fanatic within seconds. Even the security guard at one of the New York Public Library branches in which I worked couldn't help but coo over this beautiful title. Now the book isn't perfect by any means. In essence, it pads out a story that could easily have taken half the time to tell. Just the same, it fills a distinct literary need, is written well, and has a lovely little Coretta Scott King Honor to its name. Not too shabby, methinks. Maritcha Remond Lyons was born a free black in 1848. Her home was lower Manhattan and her family and family friends were an amazing assortment of highly educated, noteworthy, and prominent free black families. Her mother and father ran a boardinghouse for black sailors that doubled as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Blacks were a particularly small portion of the New York City population at this moment in history but at least they were getting along until the Draft Riots hit. In 1863, as Maritcha turned fifteen, her family was forced to flee their home and leave New York altogether. From there on in the girl went on to make history. At the age of sixteen she spoke in front of the Rhode Island state legislature so that they would allow her to attend the school of her choice. When she grew up she became the assistant principal at Brooklyn's Public School No. 83 and wrote an unpublished memoir. The memoir, in turn, fell into the hands of author Tonya Bolden and the rest is "Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl". With so little material to work from, Bolden is often required to rely purely