Jo (Josie) a Olsvig

Growing Up Gullah in the Lowcountry Jo (Josie) a Olsvig

This is a bright, colorful and informative children's book about the Gullah culture derived from West African slave descendants. It is a book that may be used to explain differing cultures and black history. The author acquaints the reader with heirs' property, the parcels of land many of the Gullah live on in the Lowcountry and surrounding Sea Islands acquired by freedmen after the Civil War. Other numerous aspects of the Gullah culture are introduced including sweetgrass basketmaking, a time-honored tradition brought from West Africa, herbal medicines, Southern cooking which incorporates many plants and vegetables brought from Africa, as well as the importance of faith and family. Certain points about the Civil War are discussed and the African American hero Robert Smalls is introduced. All of this is conveyed through the use of thirty colorful illustrations designed by a Lowcountry artist.