The Horn Book Guide

BIOGRAPHIES

Amper, Thomas

Booker T. Washington

48 pp. | Carolrhoda | September, 1998 | Trade ISBN 1-57505-094-3 $$18.60

(4) K-3 On My Own series. Illustrated by Jeni Reeves. Focusing on Washington's life from his childhood as a slave to his admission into Hampton Institute at sixteen, Amper discusses this African-American leader's struggles to become literate and the obstacles he overcame to realize his dream of attending school. The soft artwork supports the somewhat lifeless text but doesn't expand it. An afterword briefly mentions Washington's work as an educator. A time line is included.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson