ALA Booklist (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Bootman's burnished oils in browns and golds and a beautiful antique type font help foster the gentle ambience of this powerful story. Simms is always at Papa's side, and he eagerly awaits Papa's first opportunity, as an African-American, to vote. But Papa wants to sign his name, not an X, to get his ballot. He practices signing his name, Samuel T. Blow, and Simms helps him. While urging his fellows to go to town to vote, Simms listens to their fear of the townspeople's wrath, not all of whom are happy to see black men voting. But Simms sticks by his father, and when all the men choose to go to vote, the white shopkeeper in town goes in side-by-side with Samuel T. He signs his name, and he and Simms put the ballot in the box together. Simms grinned. Papa voted. Lamar County changed. An author's note explains the poll tax, literacy tests, and other obstacles designed in the post-Civil War South to keep black men from voting.

Horn Book (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

A boy describes his classroom's preparation for a visit by author Amanda Drake, who fields his question: will she write a book about her visit? In the end, readers learn that they're holding that very book. There's no denying the excitement generated by the story's lively art and original, although self-conscious, premise, but some of the rhymes clunk.

Kirkus Reviews (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

<p>Talk of the upcoming election permeates the African-American community because, for the first time, they will be permitted to vote alongside their white neighbors. There are indications that this will not be an easy task, as many whites do not want that to happen. Simms is enormously proud of his Papa's determination to vote in spite of all the obstacles and fears. But Papa cannot read or write and he desperately wants to write his name instead of his mark when he votes. Discouraged by the "chicken scratches" he makes, he elicits help from Simms and practices diligently. On Election Day, Papa writes his name, and he and Simms put the ballot in the box together. Battle-Lavert tells the story simply, letting the pride, compassion, and love between father and son shine through. Bootman's oil paintings add further dimension as they carefully complement the words and the mood. Heartfelt. (Picture book. 6-10)</p>

Publishers Weekly (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

At the start of this affecting story, Simms and his papa ride into their Southern town on their weekly shopping trip. It's a few weeks before election day, when African-Americans will be allowed to vote for the first time. The kind white shopkeeper gives Simms a poster announcing the election and, after the purchases are completed, asks Samuel to put his "mark" on the store pad. "Every Saturday Simms watched Papa put an X on the pad. Simms's gaze fell to the floor," explains the understated narrative. When they return home, the boy offers to show his father how to write his name so he'll "never have to make that X again," but Samuel gently rebuffs the offer. Yet late that night, the sleepless boy arises and spies his father hunched over a piece of paper, producing letters that, in his own words, look "like chicken scratch." Soon the father asks for his son's help, which is willingly given. In a triumphant denouement, Samuel signs his name on voting day and asks Simms to join him in putting the ballot in the box. Battle-Lavert (previously teamed with Bootman for <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Music in Derrick's Heart) broadens the historical scope of her story with references to blacks' hesitancy about voting, as they fear trouble from angry whites. Bootman's oil paintings contrast emotion-filled character studies with softly focused backdrops of the rural landscape or with relatively spare interiors. Judicious use of light and shadow underscores the message of hope. Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)

School Library Journal (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Gr 2-5 This story revolves around the descendants of freed slaves struggling to assert their right to vote after the Civil War. Despite being legally enfranchised by the Fifteenth Amendment, many roadblocks still stand in the way of black men like Samuel T. Blow: functional illiteracy, the lingering bigotry of the white men in power, and the spiritual paralysis born of many years spent with no rights at all. But Samuel's young son, Simms, helps his father learn to read and write his own name, which gives the man the courage to lead their community to the polling place on Election Day. Battle-Lavert employs regional colloquialisms and a simple narrative structure to tell her story, and Bootman's dense oil paintings evoke the mood and setting of the period. An epilogue covers the politics and other complications that kept African Americans from voting as freely as whites before 1966. Minor problems arise in the text, however, as when it suggests that Samuelwho has only recently learned to read and write his own namecould manage a written ballot without help. Since the plot focuses on his illiteracy, it seems a bit facile for the text to imply that learning to sign his name was the only educational hurdle for him to clear. Nevertheless, this is a powerful story with a lot to offer to young readers. Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC