Half Way Home from Kinderlou: The Happy Childhood Memories of a Grandfather

By James Edward Alexander

Book Overview

Through a collection of short stories, a grandfather describes his happy childhood in the small town of Valdosta, Georgia. It was a simple t Through a collection of short stories, a grandfather... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1434345157
• ISBN13: 9781434345158
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Authorhouse
• Length: 124 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A very pleasant read

Our book club selected this book since the author is from our local area. James Edward Alexander has written a memoir for his grandchildren about growing up as a young, black boy in the south. Alexander includes those little things in life that all add up to build a person's character. The importance of education, family, and hard-work are clearly evident. It is an easy, pleasant read.

A Grandfather's Gift

In this lovely book, James Edward Alexander commemorates the many kindnesses shown to an energetic, precocious child growing up in the rural south during the 1930s and 1940s. The author depicts the sense of community and mutual cooperation that were so prevalent and so vital in those days. But the author does not lull the reader into thinking those were necessarily better times. Grueling hard work was the norm, for both blacks and whites. Racial segregation defined situations that in retrospect were sometimes downright ridiculous, as in the case of white German POWs being allowed to use a swimming pool denied to local blacks during Word War II. The pragmatic approach to life exhibited by Mr. Alexander's characters provides lessons for us, in this more affluent era. Halfway Home from Kinderlou also reminds us of the profound effect we can have on children and the responsibility we have to children. Enhanced by charming artwork, this book is a delight.

How a Village Raised a Child

A heartwarming window into how a village raised a child, as James Edward Alexander shares his growing up years in Valdosta, Georgia. You gain insight into the living conditions, economic and social constraints, and cultural interactions of the 1930s and 1940s in the Deep South. Besides pure pleasure reading, this is a great item for schools to illuminate the times and the development of an unique individual.

A life I needed to know about

I grew up a 'white boy' in Washington, DC. during the same years James Edward grew up in southern Georgia. The difference is now, 60 + years later, as plain as "black and white". James' description of family and school life in the black, segreated south tells me that he enjoyed relationships within his family and community that never existed in mine. I thoroughly enjoyed this man's writings and only hope he follows through with more of his memories in later editions. And, I also hope he finally wound up with a copy of Black Beauty that he could call his own!