Coming to San Antonio Book Festival: Chris Barton (author) and Don Tate (illustrator) of "The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch"

In the back affair of The Astonishing Historic period of John Roy Lynch, illustrator Don Tate charmingly confesses:

I'thousand aback to acknowledge that earlier illustrating The Astonishing Age of John Roy Lynch, I wasn't very knowledgeable about Reconstruction.

Reconstruction is the era of United states history just afterward the Civil State of war, when former slaves made their way as gratuitous men and women, and the South tried to resist the changes imposed by the victorious North. I am thankful for Dr. Allan Kownslar'south American history classes at Trinity Academy, which took an unflinching await at Reconstruction and examined the motives of Klansmen and Radical Republicans alike.

But now that I am a parent, I am facing a new challenge: How exercise I talk to my kids about that era of history? By focusing on the amazing story of John Roy Lynch—in ten years, transformed from teenage slave to U.S. Congressman—illustrator Tate and writer Chris Barton have created a wonderful resource for families to have that chat. Keen news for San Antonio families: At the third annual San Antonio Book Festival on Apr 11, 2015, Tate and Barton will talk near their book from one:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. in the Children's Reading Tent.

My kids and I went to the San Antonio Book Festival last year and had a wonderful time. The San Antonio Public Library Foundation hosts the festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.1000. on the grounds of the Central Library and the Southwest School of Art. In addition to presentations from authors and illustrators—including enough who piece of work on children's and young adult textile—at that place are family-friendly activities, as well as food trucks and music. Last year, I wrote well-nigh the writer lineup, interviewed illustrator Joe Cepeda, and wrote a epitomize of our fun day at the Book Festival.

The opportunity to hear from Tate and Barton at the book festival is peculiarly exciting because it's so relevant for my family at present. My son, F.T., has been learning near U.S. history in school. (Read more almost F.T.'s charter school experience at Alamo Metropolis Moms Blog.) For a special project, F.T. and his classmates each dressed upwards as a historical figure and presented facts nigh him or her; one of his classmates dressed up as Harriet Tubman. After a lesson virtually the Underground Railroad, F.T. and I had a thoughtful conversation on the way abode almost why they took such terrible risks to escape slavery.

We don't pretend that the ugly history of racism in America never happened. Nosotros talk about it, simply nosotros as well notice reasons for promise. In our area, there are plenty of didactics opportunities. In 2014, my kids and I participated in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. March, along with the charter school families from Idea South Flores pictured higher up. A visit to Travis Park sparked a word of its Amalgamated memorial, as described in this earlier post. Juneteenth celebrations commemorate the mean solar day when Texas slaves first heard news of the Emancipation Proclamation, on June xix, 1865—years after John Roy Lynch left his quondam master's plantation. On a future visit to the Hill Land Science Mill in Johnson City, we program to stop by the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park and talk about LBJ's role in passing civil rights legislation, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which put teeth into the promises of the 15th amendment—ratified well-nigh 100 years earlier, during Reconstruction.

Tate'due south illustrations announced sweetly naive at first. Only look closer at this groundwork detail: those white men are virtually to lynch that black man.

F.T. and I had an interesting discussion well-nigh this epitome. (F.T. said, "He's about to get tangled.") Sadly, if you lot follow the headlines, and then you know that this danger is non really behind us.

Despite these struggles, it was truly an amazing age that John Roy Lynch lived in, and Barton'south attention to detail builds a rich historical context. For case, during his rising career, Lynch worked in a photography studio. F.T. loves taking and editing digital photographs, and seeing an analogy of Lynch getting ready to chemically develop a film negative opened F.T.'southward mind to a dissimilar era of photographic technology. My daughter, G.N., was fascinated with the illustrations of paddlewheel steamships.

By delving into a neglected era of history (Reconstruction), Tate and Barton are able to gloat John Roy Lynch'south inspiring story, and also to help families discuss the unfinished business of the struggle for racial equality in America.

I promise you and your family unit will attend the San Antonio Book Festival this year and spend time with an amazing group of authors and illustrators, including Chris Barton and Don Tate, creators of The Astonishing Age of John Roy Lynch.

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Source: https://sachartermoms.com/coming-to-san-antonio-book-festival-chris-barton-author-and-don-tate-illustrator-of-the-amazing-age-of-john-roy-lynch/

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