Book Review: Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate

It seemed rather poignant that I read this book. With the last few months showing that sadly racism has not died I thought it important to introduce my son to dark time in our history...Slavery. I doubt that my son will ever understand white privilege (sadly most white people don't). But I'm happy to say that he is raised in a family where we know that is not the color of your skin that matters but rather who you are as a person.

George Moses Horton was a slave in North Carolina. From an early age he loved words and eventually taught himself how to read. Soon he was composing poems of his own and memorizing them. While selling fruit on the weekends at a college campus he would recite his poems and was making money by selling his poetry.

I have to admit I had never heard of George Moses Horton before today. So for me this was a fascinating read. I intend to look more into him because it really was a remarkable story. My son seemed to do ok with the story. At one point I asked him if he knew what slavery was. He didn't. I tried my best to explain it but how does one explain something so evil as that?

I loved the illustrations. The soft colors were perfect and this was another childrens book that did the artwork just right. I couldn't tell what my son thought of the drawings.

5 out of 5 stars.






*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well