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The spare, lovely narrative of this picture book, based on the childhood of Booker T. Washington, is in the voice of a nine-year-old boy. He tells of leaving his cabin before dark to work all day shoveling salt with his father and older brother: "All day long we shovel it, but it refuses to grow smaller." Despite the community poverty and toil, there's a sense of freedom now, something different: "All people are free to go where they want and do what they can." What Booker wants is to read. Finally, he finds someone to teach him his letters, and it's as if he's reborn. He will read, and he'll teach others to read. Soentpiet's beautiful watercolor paintings show individual portraits lit up from the surrounding darkness. There's some idealization: even in the saltworks the pictures focus not on the back-breaking, skin-tearing labor, but on the child's view of himself and his world. Booker dreams of the light of literacy and the freedom it will bring. The story will hold kids and make them want to find out more about the person and the history. Ages 4-8. Please choose from Simplified or Traditional Chinese characters.

以美国黑人教育家卜克?华盛顿的真人真事改编而成。卜克·华盛顿是美国著名的黑人教育家，童年时家境贫困，生活在成天为糊口而付出劳动力的文盲中间，他紧紧握住梦想，不但自己渴望读书，还想帮助别人学习。这种对阅读的追求使他又紧紧把握住机会向一位识字的先生请教，终于开启了灿烂人生的大门。本书以第一人称讲述故事，让孩子深刻地感受到没有知识的昏暗及满怀希望的明亮，也从小孩子的角度看待生活中的贫困和疲累──只要有盼望，所有的痛苦都是可以忍受的、值得的……