Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

2006  James Madison Book Award
2006 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book

From the Dust Jacket

"To do the best for myself with the view of making the best of myself." wrote Maritcha Remond Lyons about her childhood.

Maritcha was born in New York City in 1848.  For most of her youth, she and her family lived in lower Manhattan.  Much of Maritcha's life there mirrored that of many children of the time: helping with the housework, attending school, and practicing the piano.  Yet there were thrilling occasions as well, such as visiting the Crystal Palace, site of America's first world's fair.  However, Maritcha's life took a dramatic turn in 1863, when, at the age of fifteen, she and her family had to flee from their home in the midst of the violent Draft Riots.  They eventually resettled in Providence, Rhode Island, where Maritcha triumphantly overcame prejudice to become the first black person to graduate from Providence High School.

Based on an unpublished memoir by Ms. Lyons ~ Memories of Yesterdays: All of Which I Saw and Part of Which I Was, dated 1928 ~ the evocative text and photographs of young Maritcha, her family, and their friends, as well as archival maps, photographs, and illustrations, 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.

»»  James Madison Book Award Winner
»»  Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
»»  YALSA Best Book for Young Adults
»»  ALSC Notable Children’s Book
»»  NAPPA Gold Award Winner
»»  CCBC Best Book of the Year
»»  New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

Age 8-up | 48 pages
Hardcover | Harry N. Abrams | 2005 | ISBN: 0810950456 | MSRP: US$17.95