Description
True vignettes and traditional verse, set against starkly powerful images, tell the story of enslaved Africans in America as it has never been told before. A man who cannot swim leaps off a slave ship into the dark water. A girl defies the law by secretly learning to read and write. A future abolitionist regains his will to live by fighting off his captor with his bare hands: I will not let you use me like a brute any longer, Frederick Douglass vows. Drawing from authentic accounts, here is a chronology of resistance in all its forms: comical trickster tales about outwitting Old Marsa; secret hush harbors where Africans instill Christian worship with their own rituals; and spirituals such as Go Down Moses, whose coded lyrics signal not just hope for deliverance, but an active call to escape. Boldly illustrated with extraordinary oil paintings by award-winning artist Shane W. Evans, and meticulously researched by Doreen Rappaport, this stunning collection -- spanning the period from the early days of slavery to the Emancipation Proclamation -- is an invaluable resource for teachers, parents, libraries, students, and people everywhere who care about what it means to be free, what it is to be human. Back matter includes important dates, a bibliography, resources for further information, and an index.
Details
Author: |
Doreen Rappaport |
Illustrator: |
Shane W. Evans |
ISBN 10: |
076362876X |
Pages: |
60 |
Publisher: |
Candlewick Press (MA) |
Publication Date: |
January 1, 2006 |
Binding: |
Paperback |
Weight: |
0.85lbs |
Age Group: |
Young Readers (9 - 13) |
Grade Range: |
4-7 |