Hansen, Joyce. (2006). I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Book Cover

This book is about a young, handicapped girl, Patsy, living as a freed slave after the Civil War. She is upset when she realizes her former master, Davis, does not keep his promises of money, land, and education for his former slaves. She begins to learn new chores, such as cooking from other former slaves. Later, Patsy ends up teaching other former slaves since Davis did not keep his promise of providing his former slaves with an education.
I would use this novel to talk about slavery. I would use it to introduce the Civil War, and I would also use it to teach about what happened even after slavery was abolished.
The following is a Scholastic guide for teachers with comprehension questions, discussion topics, and activity ideas for this novel: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/i-thought-my-soul-would-rise-and-fly-discussion-guide
The following is the link to the "Dear America" website on Scholastic with more books within the series and activities: http://www.scholastic.com/dearamerica/