A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, 1859 (Dear America)

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Summary: A story about the power of literacy in a slave girl's life.
Review: Clotee has lived all twelve years of her life as a slave on the Belmont Plantation in Virginia. Now it's 1859, just before the start of the Civil War. Although she has known no life other than that of a slave, she has secretly learned how to read and write, and that ability gives her a glimpse of the world out there. To practice, she keeps a secret diary that she hides in a hollowed-out tree. An orphan most of her life, Clotee has managed to make the best of her circumstances, and writing is one of the few things that brings her any joy. When a tutor comes to the plantation to teach the master's young son, Clotee figures that he'll just be another predjudiced southerner. But he's an abolitionist that further expands Clotee's horizons, and he may be able to give her the one thing she longs for: freedom. I highly reccomend this beautifully written account of one year in the life of a fictional slave girl who lived in circumstances typical of the time. The fact that it is told through Clotee's diary allows the reader to really get inside her head and know her innermost thoughts, hopes, and dreams.

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Summary: I Loved It!
Review: I got this book at the library and I absolutely loved it! I would definitely recommend it for children to read to their parents or on their own. I enjoyed it so much that I want my own copy for Christmas! It is so realistic that you feel that you are a part of the story. I never wanted to put it down. This author is amazing and that is why I rated it at five stars.

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Summary: EXCELLENT!!!
Review: I have read almost all of the Dear America books, and this is my favorite. There is so much detail about what life was like for slaves-for those who worked out in the hot feilds, and for those who worked in the kitchens, under the watchful eyes of the plantation owner. I have never really liked the topic of the Civil War and slavery, but I loved this book. There are many exciting scenes. Everyone should read it.

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Summary: good book
Review: Picture of Freedom is a good book but it is hard to read. Because the words in the book aren't spelled right. I it about a slave who works in a kitchen. She learned to read by the misstress. So she started keeping a journal. She really wants to tell somebody but she can't or she will get beat or maybe killed. There is some foreshadowing in the book but not much. I recomened this book to people who like to read or like to read about history.

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Summary: A Picture of Freedom
Review: The book A Picture of Freedom is about a twelve year old slave girl who lives on the Belmont Plantation in Virgingia. I like the way the book is written. It is not divided into chapters but in days. The twelve year old girl, Clottee, writes in her diary almost everyday and you read what she writes in her diary. This book gave me mixed feelings. It was sad at one time and exciting at another. At one point of the book one of the very nice slaves was brutally beaten by the master of the plantation. Soon after he was beaten he died. This was very hard for the other slaves to deal with. As you can tell that part of the book was very sad. There were so many interesting parts in the book. There were parts when I just could not put the book down! For instance when William, the masters child escaped. A few days later a still energetic, horse came trotting up the drive of the big house (the house where the masters live on the plantation) with William dragging along behind. You will defiantly have to read this book and find out if William lives. I would recommend this book to all teen/middle school aged girls. I think that it is a wonderful book. I think even older women might like this book also. I would also recommend this book to those girls who are not motivated readers. I think the way the book is set up it does not seem like you are reading that much.

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Summary: A Picture of Freedom: A Exellent Diary of a Slave Girl
Review: This book is about Clotee, who is a 12 years old slave girl in Belmont Plantation, Virginia. She taught herself how to read and write. Her mom was sold to other plantation and died when she was young. Clotee grew by Aunt Tee and Uncle Heb. Her friends were Hince, spicy and Wook. Wook was killed when she tried to runaway. Clotee met Mr. Harms who was an abolitionist on the Underground Railroad. She wanted to be an abolitionist too.

In the book, Clotee shares her feelings, experiences and thoughts about slavery. She describes her life on the plantation and talks about the Underground Railroad. I liked this book because it gave me a window onto the live of slaves in 1859. The details were very vivid. I also liked this book because it taught the lesson that if a person has a goal ad dream, he/she should go for it and they will reach it. Another reason that I liked this book is it showed me how terrible slavery was an how wrong it was. I recommend this book to any teenager who is studying the U.S. Civil War or slavery.

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Summary: Fine
Review: This book was about a slave girl who keeps a diary while she is a slave. She wants inside to become free. But her master will not allow it. It just tells about the horrible stuff she goes through while being a slave. I highly recommend this book.

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Summary: A Picture of Freedom
Review: This was a really great book , I thought this was alomost better than I thought my soul wouls rise and fly , diary of patsy . I saw the hbo show of this and it was almost the same as the show , but overall this is a good book and Patricia McKissack is a good writer but I thought her book on Nzinga was her worst book .