num_pages: 188
description: This bittersweet and sharply observed masterpiece recounts a year in the life of twelve-year-old France Coffin. It is the summer of 1934, and nowhere are the effects of the Great Depression more apparent than in Harlem. But Harlem is also home to a community's anger, humor, and vitality, the paradoxical cradle of young Francie's innocence and dreams - just like the daily numbers game played for the small glint of hope that it boldly promises but will never fulfill.
language: English
title: Daddy Was a Number Runner
titlecomplete: Daddy Was a Number Runner
characters: Francine Coffin
genres: Fiction, African American, 20th Century, Classics, Coming Of Age, Young Adult, Race, New York, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
ratings_count: 895
places: Harlem, New York City, New York
publisher: Pyramid Books