Let's Keep This Secret

Annie, a slave girl, gets her first job in the big house. It is to fan Miss Emma who is supposed to be taking an afternoon nap. But Miss Emma prefers to do something else instead. Miss Emma asks Annie to keep the secret. Annie agrees. Miss Emma teaches Annie to read. When Annie's father discovers her secret, he asks her to teach him, her mother and brother to read. Author's notes discuss what life was like for slave children and how much they valued reading.