Booker T. Washington is often attacked for compromising with, rather than attacking, the political establishment, but in this handsome picture-book biography, the focus is on an amazing achievement in his youth, when he walked 500 miles from his West Virginia home “without a single penny in his pocket” to make it to school. Asim tells the story in spare free verse, beginning with Washington as a slave boy whose dream was to learn to read. Even when freedom comes, life is brutally hard: “he shoveled, hauled and packed,” working in a salt furnace and a coal mine. Collier’s dramatic, unframed illustrations in watercolor and collage include the unforgettable image of the young Washington staring through a window at white kids in the classroom. Then there is Washington’s journey; tired, hungry, and alone, he was always struggling to get to school. The climax is a close-up portrait of the adult Washington seated in a classroom with books, dreaming of sharing what his teachers have given him. Extensive back matter includes additional facts, a chronology, and a discussion about his enduring legacy. Grades 2-4. --Hazel Rochman A School Library Journal 2012 Editor's Choice List A Kirkus Best Children's Books List Selection A Fall 2012 Parent's Choice Silver Award Winner An NAACP Image Award Nominee A 2013 CCBC Choices list selection
