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[CCBC-Net] Books on Traveling
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From: HANSNELS at aol.com <HANSNELS>
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 15:16:44 EDT
Hi all,
I'd like to share the following comments that I recently wrote in a piece about Eleanora Tate's delightful new book, Celeste's Harlem Renaissance, since it falls into the category of traveling.
__________________________________________________________________________ Celeste?s Harlem Renaissance is a tale of two cities as seen through the eyes of adolescent, Celeste Lassiter Massey. Children?s author, Eleanora Tate, has written a wonderful story set in the 1920?s during the period of the Harlem Renaissance--an era not often explored in literature for young people. She deftly covers two cities in her story--Harlem in New York City, and Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina. Through the travels of her main character, she compares and contrasts African American lives and culture in both cities--life for Blacks in both places was a struggle; however, her characters are not victims and the story is not about oppression, but about overcoming and becoming. Ms. Tate shows how African Americans North and South created a world of their own despite segregation, lynching and any number of other oppressions. But Cece, as Celeste is called, her family and neighbors are not victims and the story is not about the hard lives of black folks, but it is a story about people who work hard and are determined to live full, productive and joyful lives. Cece is a well drawn character who grows from a shy, southern girl to a young woman who learns how to navigate both the big city and her own family. In this coming of age story, as Cece approaches womanhood, she bravely makes sacrifices and difficult choices that in the end help her to grow in strength.
The most poignant part of the story is the relationship between Celeste and old cantankerous Aunt Society. In some very moving scenes, Ms. Tate shows the complicated struggle of caring for an elderly relative who once cared for you. Ms. Tate smoothly inserts historical figures in her story: Madame Walker, Duke Ellington, James Weldon Johnson, Jessie Fauset and Marcus Garvey, some of the African Americans who were a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Ms. Tate does not leave out Black institutions, businesses and people in Raleigh who managed to prosper and thrive even in the segregated south. We get a slice of life of both cities. Eleanora Tate has managed to not only tell a good story, but to give us a history lesson as well. Joyce Hansen
************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
Received on Mon 09 Jul 2007 02:16:44 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 15:16:44 EDT
Hi all,
I'd like to share the following comments that I recently wrote in a piece about Eleanora Tate's delightful new book, Celeste's Harlem Renaissance, since it falls into the category of traveling.
__________________________________________________________________________ Celeste?s Harlem Renaissance is a tale of two cities as seen through the eyes of adolescent, Celeste Lassiter Massey. Children?s author, Eleanora Tate, has written a wonderful story set in the 1920?s during the period of the Harlem Renaissance--an era not often explored in literature for young people. She deftly covers two cities in her story--Harlem in New York City, and Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina. Through the travels of her main character, she compares and contrasts African American lives and culture in both cities--life for Blacks in both places was a struggle; however, her characters are not victims and the story is not about oppression, but about overcoming and becoming. Ms. Tate shows how African Americans North and South created a world of their own despite segregation, lynching and any number of other oppressions. But Cece, as Celeste is called, her family and neighbors are not victims and the story is not about the hard lives of black folks, but it is a story about people who work hard and are determined to live full, productive and joyful lives. Cece is a well drawn character who grows from a shy, southern girl to a young woman who learns how to navigate both the big city and her own family. In this coming of age story, as Cece approaches womanhood, she bravely makes sacrifices and difficult choices that in the end help her to grow in strength.
The most poignant part of the story is the relationship between Celeste and old cantankerous Aunt Society. In some very moving scenes, Ms. Tate shows the complicated struggle of caring for an elderly relative who once cared for you. Ms. Tate smoothly inserts historical figures in her story: Madame Walker, Duke Ellington, James Weldon Johnson, Jessie Fauset and Marcus Garvey, some of the African Americans who were a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Ms. Tate does not leave out Black institutions, businesses and people in Raleigh who managed to prosper and thrive even in the segregated south. We get a slice of life of both cities. Eleanora Tate has managed to not only tell a good story, but to give us a history lesson as well. Joyce Hansen
************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
Received on Mon 09 Jul 2007 02:16:44 PM CDT
