Priscilla and the Hollyhocks by Anne Broyles Illustrated by Anna Alter

Beagles and Books is excited to participate in Multicultural Children’s Book Day this year!  Special thanks to author Ann Broyles for sending me  Priscilla and the Hollyhocks to review.  All opinions are my own.

Born into slavery, Priscilla’s mother was sold when she was very young.  Her only remembrance of her mother are the hollyhocks that her mother planted by the cow pond.  Old Sylvia showed Priscilla how to make hollyhocks dolls and float them in the water just like her mother.

It was long before Priscilla began working in the Big House for her master.  Her only escape was on Sundays to watch her hollyhock dollies float and dance across the pond. One day Priscilla met a man named Mason Basil Silkwood, who happened to be strolling around the property.  He told Priscilla she was bright and should be in school.  After their conversation, Priscilla stood taller.

After her master died, Priscilla is sold to a Cherokee family; she still scattered hollyhock seeds near their house to keep her mother’s memory alive.  When her new masters were forced to move, Priscilla hid hollyhock seeds in her pocket and became part of the Trail of Tears march.  During her march through town, Priscilla recognized Mr. Silkwood and spoke to him.  That chance meeting changed Priscilla’s life, for that evening Mr. Silkwood finds Priscilla to buy her freedom. As Priscilla spreads hollyhock seeds at her new home, she states that she is slave no longer and daughter once more.

Anne Broyles honestly yet tenderly shares Priscilla’s journey from slavery to freedom and to me, the story evoked the positive message of hope.  To Priscilla, her mother’s hollyhocks were a symbol of hope and eventually safety and freedom.  Anna Alter’s beautiful illustrations capture Priscilla’s changing emotions throughout her journey. Not being aware that Native American families owned slaves, I appreciated the author note’s explaining Priscilla’s story in greater detail.

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Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD:Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER:Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo,  Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles,  Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen,  Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL Publishing  Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham  Author Natasha Yim

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.