This book was very informative and enjoyable. I like this book because of the writing and the topic. The way the author wrote this chapter book was very organized and flow nicely. Two examples of the excellent writing is the poems and factual information. Dunbar was a famous poet. During the story the author talks about his poems and other poets who inspired Dunbar. When an important poem was mention she would give the reader a few lines from the poem. On page 15, when three of Dunbar’s poems got published. One of the poems published was “Our Martyred Soldiers” and the author put four lines from the poems to show his understanding of war and death. Another reasons I enjoyed this book was because of all the factual information in the book. Not only did she go into great detail about Dunbar’s life but she also added information about other famous people that crossed paths with Dunbar. For example, on page 13, when the author was talking about the African American in Dunbar’s community. She mentioned Alexander Crummell and Frederick Douglass and gave a little history lesson on each. I liked not only learning about Dunbar but also other historic figures.
The second reason I liked this book was because of one of the topics in the book. The setting of the story was during the 1800s. Slavery had just ended and African Americans were still treated badly. They were not given the same opportunities as white Americans. For example, when Dunbar graduated from high school he went on a long journey looking for well-paying jobs he could use his talents. No job worth having wanted him because he was black. This was very discouraging for Dunbar. This really put into perspective African American hardships. This book explained these hardships in a simple way a child could understand.
The main message of this story is never give up on your dreams and talents. Hard work does pay off and doing someone you love will always be awarding. ( )