View source for Happy Birthday, Addy!

{{infobox book
| name        = Happy Birthday, Addy!
| image       = HappyBirthdayAddy4.jpg
| imagewidth  = 300px
| caption     = The last individual cover of ''Happy Birthday, Addy!''
| published   = 1994
| author      = [[Connie Porter]]
| illustrator = [[Bradford Brown]]<br>[[Dahl Taylor]]<br>[[Renée Graef]] (vignettes)<br>[[Geri Strignez Bourget]] (vignettes)
| isbn        = 1562470817
| setting     = March<ref>[[Ben Walker]] has been back with Ruth and Addy for three months.</ref> - April 9, 1865<ref>Sunday night  after the surrender of the Confederate Army at Appomattox.</ref>
| prev      = ''[[Addy's Surprise]]''
| next      = ''[[Addy Saves the Day]]''
}}
'''''Happy Birthday, Addy!''''' is the [[Central_Series|fourth book]] in the '''[[List of Addy's Books|Addy series]]'''. It was later made part of ''[[A Heart Full of Hope]]'' and then ''[[Addy: A Heart Full of Hope]]''.

==Characters==
* [[Addy Walker]]
* [[Ben Walker]]
* [[Ruth Walker]]
* [[Sarah Moore]]

===Introduced===
*[[Minor Characters in Addy's Series#Mr. and Mrs. Golden|Mr. and Mrs. Golden]]
*[[M'dear]]
*[[Minor Characters in Addy's Series#Miles Roberts|Miles Roberts]]

==Chapter by Chapter Summary==

===Chapter One: Double Dutch===

Addy returns to the end of the line of girls playing Double Dutch after school. She's just missed for the fourth time, and is discouraged that jumping with two ropes are so much harder than one. Sarah assures that Addy will get better with practice, but Addy is unsure. However, it's hard not to feel happy this spring day. After all, Poppa was there. He, Momma, and Addy had moved from Mrs. Ford's garret to a boarding house nearby, and he had a job driving an ice wagon--which was right then coming towards them. Addy and Sarah hurry to meet him, and he gives each of them a skiver of ice to suck on. He offers them both a ride, but Sarah has to go straight home to help her mother with her laundry work. Addy climbs onto the wagon, struggling to hold her cold, slippery piece of ice. Poppa lets her wear his thick gloves as Addy expresses regret that Sarah has to help her mother so much. Poppa says her family needs the money, adding that he hadn't expected freedom to be as hard as it is. Addy says Momma told her change took time, and Poppa adds that at least Philadelphia has potential for good changes.

Addy tells Poppa that her world in Philadelphia seems to be getting bigger and bigger--she can read and write, and they're riding around the city instead of worming tobacco plants. Poppa agrees that working for pay and living in a boarding house is better than before, but he still wants more; ice hauling only takes muscle, and no one even knows about his carpentry skills because every job he's inquired about has said that they don't hire Black people. 

Poppa's last delivery is at [[Locations in Addy's Series#Natkin's Confectionery Shop|Natkin's Confectionery]], a whites-only ice cream shop. Addy remembers her first taste of ice cream at a church social a few weeks ago, and blurts without thinking that she'd like some ice cream right then. Poppa says nothing as he lifts an ice block in his huge tongs and carries it into the shop through the side door. He comes back, saying it's some kind of freedom when he can deliver ice to make ice cream but can't even buy his daughter a dish of it. Addy pretends not to like ice cream in an attempt to make Poppa feel better, but he only looks sidelong at her and hops down from the wagon, allegedly to "check if the door's closed." He returns with a broken [[Ice Cream Freezer|ice cream freezer]] that had been thrown out behind the shop. He promises to fix it for Addy, who says that'd be nice. Addy feels that being black is like standing outside the whirling ropes of Double Dutch, wanting desperately to jump in.

===Chapter Two: Sunshine===

Addy is hopeful to see a little wagon full of furniture outside the boarding house the next day. She is the only child who lives there, and her afternoons can be lonesome with only Ida Bean to talk to. Mr. Golden, the keeper of the boarding house, tells her the person moving in is his mother, to Addy's disappointment. Some days, like today, Momma and Poppa are working late and aren't home in time to eat dinner with the rest of the boarders. As Addy eats, she listens to the conversation at her table: Mrs. Golden is talking about an almost-riot on a streetcar downtown in which three Black people were injured. Another woman says she's too scared to ride streetcars at all, and a man adds that he heard the Pine Street conductor threw a Black man off his streetcar, breaking the man's leg in the process. A young woman says there wouldn't be any trouble if Black people were allowed to ride inside the streetcar instead of on the platform, and Mr. Golden says he'll be an old man before that ever happens. 

Addy finds she has little interest in her meal and heads back toward her family's room. A bird's song catches her attention, and Addy follows it to one of the downstairs rooms whose door is partially open. There is no lamp or candle in the room, so Addy has trouble seeing what's inside until her eyes adjust and she sees a [[Songbird and Sweets|bright yellow bird]] perched in a cage, singing loudly and cheerfully. An old woman's voice speaks from the darkness and says that she can come in, calling her "child." Addy is startled--she hadn't seen anyone--and the old woman lights a lamp and beckons her inside. The furniture in the room is the same furniture from the wagon that afternoon. Addy introduces herself and asks if the woman is Mr. Golden's mother. The woman answers yes and asks her if she wants to meet the bird, whose name is Sunny. Addy approaches the cage and notices that the old woman's eyes are filmy and blank. Mrs. Golden says Addy didn't know she was blind, and Addy politely answers no, asking how she knew Addy was at the door. Mrs. Golden answers that she has many ways of seeing, like how she knew Addy was a child by the softness and spacing of her footsteps. 

She asks how old Addy is and when her birthday is, and Addy says she's nine but only knows she was born in the spring. Mrs. Golden says it's too bad Addy doesn't know her exact birthday, and by her speech pattern she can guess that Addy was born enslaved. She explains that lots of formerly enslaved people don't know their birthdays--she herself was born in Philadelphia but her parents were enslaved from birth. She jokes about being old enough to remember the day God invented dirt. Addy says her brother [[Sam Walker|Sam]] would like Mrs. Golden, and the latter asks if he lives there too. Addy says they don't know where he is and briefly explains how their family was split. Mrs. Golden says slavery takes a lot from people and it takes time to get it back. However, there's one thing Addy can do without having to wait: she can pick a birthday for herself whenever she wants. Addy says that's a good idea and she wants to pick a very special day so her birthday will be perfect. Mrs. Golden tells her that in her entire long life she's never seen a perfect day, but some days are almost perfect. She tells Addy that she'll know when the right day comes along. Sunny puffs up his chest and sings again, and Addy asks if he gets sad or lonely in that cage, and Mrs. Golden says he occasionally sounds sad, but they keep each other company and the cage can't contain his spirit. She says everyone needs to know how to let their souls sing out all the time. Addy replies it can be hard to do that if you feel lonely or sad, and Mrs. Golden said she could hear Addy's loneliness when she first spoke, but even then Addy was still singing. Mrs. Golden asks Addy to visit whenever she wants, and to call her M'Dear like her family does.

===Chapter Three: Bitter Medicine===

Addy visits M'Dear after school every day after their first meeting. They keep each other company while Addy does her schoolwork, and M'Dear sometimes rewards her with benne candy and stories of her childhood. Addy is happy to have someone in the boarding house to talk to, and happier still when Momma lets her invite Sarah over on Saturday so M'Dear can rest. Poppa looks up from the ice cream freezer he's repairing and tells Addy to hurry up picking a birthday since the freezer is almost fixed. When Sarah arrives, Addy spreads an old blanket on the floor and sets dishes and a plate of cornbread on it to make an indoor picnic. Sarah is carrying a bag, which she tells Addy holds a surprise. Addy tells her Momma and Poppa said Sarah can help Addy pick a birthday. Sarah says that decision should be up to Addy, who agrees and they enjoy their meal. Afterwards, Sarah hands Addy the bag and tells her to reach inside. It turns out to be a pair of jump ropes cut from a spare clothesline from [[Minor Characters in Addy's Series#Mabel Moore|Mabel Moore|her mother's]] laundry business. Sarah ties the ropes to a lamppost outside, and begins to twirl them. Addy tries over and over to jump steadily, but she continues to get tangled up. M'Dear's voice interrupts; she is sitting at her open window. She advises Addy to listen to the ropes as well as watching them turn. After introducing Sarah to M'Dear, Addy follows her advice, noticing the regular rhythm of the tapping ropes and following it with her feet. She manages four jumps in a row before tripping and is proud; M'Dear says she saw Addy's success (in her own way). On her next try, Addy jumps more than a dozen times before losing count. 

Later, Addy brings Sarah inside to meet M'Dear proiperly, and is dismayed to see the old woman lying in bed with a cloth over her forehead--she has run out of medicine for her headache. Addy offers to get her more from the nearby drugstore, and M'Dear agrees, handing her some money and telling the girls to buy something special for themselves with the extra. However, the nearby pharmacy is all out of the medicine needed. Addy tells Sarah that she saw another drugstore on Pebble Avenue from the ice wagon. It's a long trip away, but Addy tells Sarah they can take a streetcar and she knows which ones allow Black people to ride. The girls walk one block to a streetcar stop, pay their fare to board, and climb onto the outside platform. Addy enjoys the warm spring breeze as the horses pull the streetcar through the city. At every stop, the outdoor platform gets more and more crowded, even though there's plenty of room inside. 

Addy is relieved to arrive at the drugstore, but there's a long line inside. When the girls finally reach the counter, Addy doesn't get a chance to speak before the clerk ignores her and turns to wait on a man who has just walked through the door. Sarah whispers to Addy that they were next, and Addy says he might not have seen them because he's used to waiting on grown folks. As soon as the man leaves, Addy tries again to speak to the clerk, but he walks away to wait on a young white girl who has just walked in. Sarah tells Addy there's no way the clerk hadn’t seen them ''that'' time. Addy watches the clerk speak to the girl, counting her change into her hand. After the white girl is served, the clerk asks rudely what Addy wants. She shows him the empty medicine bottle and asks for the same type, and he asks if she has any money to pay. Sarah is staring at the floor. Addy tries to hand him her coins, but he backs away and tells her to put the money on the counter. He counts out her change and then slams it onto the counter rather than handing it to her. Several coins fall on the floor, and Sarah scrambles to get them as Addy takes the medicine.  

Wordlessly, the girls leave the shop and walk back to the streetcar stop. Sarah says some white folks think they're better than Black folks. Addy protests that that isn't right, and Sarah says things ain't always right. The first streetcar that comes by is packed and doesn't even stop for passengers, causing the crowd at the stop to grumble. Addy and Sarah are able to board the next one, but it's so jammed that Addy can't even reach the railing. The conductor calls out at the next stop that only white passengers are allowed to board, sparking a storm of protest from the mainly Black crowd waiting there as a white man pushes past them and boards. A man in overalls at the stop says they've been waiting for an hour, and a woman shouts that there would be room if they were allowed to sit inside and the conductor replies he doesn't make the rules and they have to wait. The man in overalls says they ''won't'' wait and tries to force his way onto the platform along with several others. The conductor yells for them to get off begins shoving people to get past and remove the boarders, yelling at them to get off the streetcar. Several leave, but the man in overalls clings to the railing. The conductor grabs him by his overalls and pulls him until he falls off and falls into the street. The conductor then angrily orders all the other Black people who are still aboard the streetcar to get off right now. One woman protests they've paid, and the conductor says that if they don't get off right now, he'll call the police. Addy is pushed, jostled, and has her feet trampled among the sudden rush of people leaving and falls to the ground, tearing a hole in her stocking and scraping her knee in the process, then watches the streetcar--with an empty platform and many seats still empty inside--pull away. Sarah goes to her side and asks if Addy is all right. Addy says she thinks so and she didn't drop M'Dear's medicine. Sarah says she doesn't want to get on another streetcar and Addy says they can't anyways, since they've used up all their money on both trips. Sarah asks how far it is to home and Addy laments that it's a long, long way. 

===Chapter Four: Brotherly Love===

The girls finally make it back to the boarding house by the late afternoon. As they head down the hall, M'Dear calls out after Addy and Addy answers, trying not to sound discouraged. M'Dear is relieved to hear them, saying she was almost worried enough to come after them herself. Addy tries to hide her torn stocking and dust her dress before remembering M'Dear can't see it. M'Dear asks what kept them and Addy explains that the nearby druggist didn't have the medicine she needed, so she and Sarah had to go to another store further away. M'Dear takes the medicine but holds Addy's hand after she does, saying she can tell there's something more that happened by Addy's voice. Addy tells her the whole story, adding that she and most of the other Black people on the streetcar were just minding their own business when the conductor threw them off. M'Dear agrees that it isn't right what happened and Sarah says Black people in the North aren't as free as everyone has said they are. M'Dear answers that Black people have to fight for their freedom even in the North, because some white people are prejudiced. She says a prejudiced person is even more blind than she herself is, because they can't see a person for who they really are.  Addy argues that Philadelphia doesn't seem to have earned its moniker as "the City of Brotherly Love"--the druggist didn't want to wait on her because she's Black, the streetcars are segregated, she can't go to the Confectionery, and her father can't even get a job as a carpenter. She says that there isn't any brotherly love in the city and that it can never change. M'Dear asks why she feels that way, and Addy answers that Black people can't change the color of their skin. M'Dear agrees with Addy that they can't change the color of their skin, but she doesn't have to let prejudice keep her a prisoner. She needs to keep singing, just like Sunny, and keep right on living despite it.

After Sarah goes home, Poppa stops by the boarding house so Addy can ride with him on his last few deliveries. He looks discouraged, so Addy tells him only about the picnic and the Double Dutch practice when he asks about her day rather than about the experience on the streetcar and at the store. Poppa says he looked at another carpenter job but was again told that the job didn't hire Black folks. Addy tells him that foreman is blind not to see the skilled carpenter Poppa really is, and Poppa compliments her for sounding like a wise old lady. Addy says she's sure someone will hire Poppa as the wagon rolls to a stop. Addy waits while Poppa delivers the ice, and notices a bird singing. She turns her head to look for the bird but instead sees a sign on a nearby building that says ''Carpenters wanted, apply within''. Addy points it out to Poppa as soon as he finishes the delivery. He insists that he knows already what he'll be told, but still knocks on the door. A white man with a beard full of sawdust opens the door, and Poppa introduces himself in a level voice. The man says his name is Miles Roberts and asks if Poppa has done any carpentry before. Poppa says he has and that while he cannot read or write he has a lot of experience and knowledge working with wood, and he has his own hammer, saw, and plane. Mr. Roberts tells Poppa to show up the following Monday at six a.m. for work and shakes his hand. As soon as the door is shut, Poppa scoops Addy up and whirls her around in his arms. Addy says she told him someone would see him for who he really was, and Poppa grins and says Momma will be so happy. The tune he whistles as they ride back home is full of happiness and hope.

===Chapter Five: Changes in the Wind===

The next Sunday is cheerful. Poppa will be starting work tomorrow, and the weather is lovely. Reverend Drake preaches that a change is coming and that the war will be over any day. After lunch, Addy shows off her Double Dutch skills, explaining that Sarah and M'Dear taught her. Momma asks how M'Dear could have taught Addy how to jump rope, and Addy says M'Dear taught her how to see with her ears and sing with her heart. Poppa says that sounds like a riddle, Addy says she learned that M'Dear knows all about the world. Momma asks when Addy will pick her birthday--the ice cream freezer is fixed. Addy says she thinks an almost-perfect day is on its way, and Momma says it'd better hurry as she's getting hungry for some ice cream.

That night, the Walkers are awakened before dawn by a racket from outside. Poppa, who has jumped to the window, says it's cannon fire from the harbor. Momma briefly expresses worry that the war has come to Philadelphia. However the sounds of church bells, whistles, and cheering join the noise of the cannons and Addy is the first to realize that the the war must have ended. All three of them start crying from happiness, and Momma says this is the chance they've been waiting for and can eventually see [[Esther Walker|Esther]] and Sam again. 

The family gets dressed and join the crowds outside, amid shouts of news that the North has won and [[Wikipedia:Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House#Surrender|General Lee has surrendered]]. Addy sees M'Dear at her window, and calls to her that she wishes M'Dear could see all the celebration. M'Dear says she can in her own way. People are banging on pots and pans, setting off firecrackers, waving [[Addy's Party Treats|lanterns and banners]] and buntings in the lightening sky. Addy reads a few banners--''Lincoln and Liberty!'', ''One People, One Country'', ''America: North and South United Again!'' and realizes this is her almost-perfect day. If it were perfect, she thinks, then Sam and Esther would be there--but this is the best day she can imagine without them. She tells Momma and Poppa that she wants today to be her birthday. Poppa says she picked a fine day. 

Sarah and her parents arrive at the boarding house to celebrate the end of the war, and when Addy states that she's picked the day for her birthday Sarah congratulates Addy on picking a birthday--April 9th--that no one will ever forget. Poppa announces to the rest of the boarders that they'll be celebrating Addy's tenth birthday in the boarding house dining room soon. The girls go outside to jump rope while the adults set up the party and jump together when someone else offers to turn the ropes for them. Momma calls them back inside once the party is fully set up, and Addy marvels at the beautiful display--shiny [[Ironstone Compote Set|copper pitchers]] of ginger pop, flowers at each [[Lazy Susan Table and Chairs|table]], two cherry pies, and of course, the ice cream. M'Dear gives Addy a [[Songbird and Sweets|packet of benne candies]] and a [[Birthday Pinafore and Snood|hair bow]] with two bright yellow feathers tied into it--a gift from Sunny. Addy promises M'Dear that she'll always remember to let her spirit sing out.

===[[Looking Back]]: Growing Up in 1864===

Discusses childhood and growing up during the Civil War. Topics covered:

* Childbirth being attended to by midwives, and how enslaved women were attended to by grandmothers, aunts, and other women experienced in childbirth.
* The lack of knowledge about health and medical care resulting in many childbirth deaths for both the newborns and their mothers.
* How older Black girls and elderly women were tasked with caring for infants while their mothers worked, as mothers were expected work even with babies, and how some women who worked fields were permitted to carry babies with them. 
* How toddlers, black and white, often played together, and early friendships between very young enslaved children and their enslaving master's children, how the friendships lasted for years
* How enslaved Black children noticed they were treated differently from white children, expected to call the white children "young master" and "young mistress," and that most of these friendships ended as Black children grew up and their lives became more separate from white people's.
* The illegality of Black children being educated, and that they were expected to begin work and chores by age eight. 
* The games and toys enslaved children played when they weren't working, such as dolls, jump rope, marbles, and active games like hide and seek, Ring Around the Rosie, and Sally Walker
* The telling of stories such as [[Wikipedia:Br'er Rabbit|Brer Rabbit]], whose stories were based on African tales of Wakaima and their being an important part of American folklore.
* How enslaved teens were treated like and expected to work as hard as adults, and married young 
* Enslaved people developing their own marriage customs, despite laws that made marriage between them illegal or unrecognized by enslavers who would still separate married couples, how couples that could stay together had long marriages, and how post-Civil War many couples were formally married in large ceremonies 
* The education of white and free Black children in the North in segregated schools, though they were not required by law to attend school and often quit around ages twelve or thirteen--and that while many attended high school, few attended college and were mostly male. 
* How teenagers that left school would work to help their families and lived at home until they married, as well as the difficulties in finding work due to prejudice from white employers, and poor pay
* Teenage boys joining the war effort as young as sixteen or twelve, and how girls and women helped the war effort by preparing food and clothing for soldiers, making flags, and raising money to help wounded and ill soldiers
* How nearly everyone knew someone who was either injured or killed in the Civil War and how it had the most deaths of any Americna-fught war. 
* Reasons why many children like Addy would have celebrated the end of the Civil War--the end of slavery, the suffering caused by the war, and the hope of family reunification. 

==Variations==
The 2024 re-release edition includes a new foreword. This foreword mentions updated imagery and language and a revised Looking Back section. The book also has pages with additional resources and discussion questions.

==Items associated with ''Happy Birthday, Addy!'' ==
*[[Birthday Pinafore and Snood]]
*[[Songbird and Sweets]]
*[[Ice Cream Freezer]]
*[[Lazy Susan Table and Chairs]]
*[[Addy's Party Treats]]
*[[Ironstone Compote Set]]

==Book Covers==

<gallery position="center" widths="200" spacing="small">
Image:HappyBirthdayAddy1.jpg|First cover from 1994-2000.
Image:HappyBirthdayAddy2.jpg|Third cover from 2000-2004.
Image:HappyBirthdayAddy4.jpg|Fourth cover from 2004-2014.
</gallery>

==Trivia==

*Portions of Chapter Three and Four, titled "Bitter Medicine and Brotherly Love", were excerpted in [[American Girl Magazine]] Sept/Oct 1994.
*[[Addy's Stilting Outfit]] was pictured on the fourth individual cover, abut four years after the limited edition's retirement.
*The edition with Bradford Brown's illustrations was rereleased in 2024. This version has an updated "America in 1864" section.

==References==
{{Refs}}

[[Category:Addy Walker]]
[[Category:Addy's Collection]]
[[Category:Birthday Books]]
[[Category:Birthday Collections]]
[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Central Series]]
[[Category:Historical Books]]
[[Category:Items Released in 1994]]

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