I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina 1865 (Dear America Series)
by Joyce Hansen
from Scholastic Inc.
In this latest addition to the Dear America series, Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author Joyce Hansen presents the inspiring story of Patsy, a freed girl who becomes a great teacher.
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
by Faith Ringgold
from Dragonfly Books
Illus. in full color. Cassie, who flew above New York in Tar Beach, soars into the sky once more. This time, she and her brother Be Be meet a train full of people, and Be Be joins them. But the train departs before Cassie can climb aboard. With Harriet Tubman as her guide, Cassie retraces the steps escaping slaves took on the real Underground Railroad and is finally reunited with her brother at the story's end.
Lest We Forget: The Passage from Africa to Slavery and Emancipation: A Three-Dimensional Interactive Book with Photographs and Documents from the Black Holocaust Exhibit
by Velma Maia Thomas
from Crown
Velma Maia Thomas, the developer of the Black Holocaust Exhibit, has written a passionate yet brief account of slavery in America. Lest We Forget is packaged to mimic a multimedia exhibit: pages fold out, pop up, and often contain three-dimensional objects, such as an envelope that opens to reveal a facsimile of a receipt for a slave named Francis. The production techniques may make Lest We Forget look like a children's book, but the text offers a serious, moving depiction of how slaves lived before emancipation.
This richly designed historical document is an ingenious, interactive, three-dimensional experience that dramatically addresses the painful history of America and the slave trade. Based on the Black Holocaust Exhibit, Lest We Forget is history brought to life by Velma Maia Thomas, curator. Accompanying the book's documents, Thomas' exquisite prose is interwoven with the moving words of slaves themselves.
Harriet and the Promised Land
from Aladdin
Explores the historic tale of Harriet Tubman with narrative illustrations and rhythmic verse that captures the urgency of her struggles as she courageously leads slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Reprint. AB. NYT.
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman
by Alan Schroeder
from Dial
Many people know about Harriet Tubman's adult life--how she helped hundreds of slaves escape to freedom along the Underground Railroad. But how know about Harriet Tubman's life as a little African-American girl? This dramatic portrayal will open the eyes of countless young readers and help them to know the little girl who would become one of America's greatest heroines. Full color.
From Slave Ship to Freedom Road
by Julius Lester
from Dial
Slavery is a difficult concept to address with children, especially because many adults would prefer to forget that period of American history. In From Slave Ship to Freedom Road, award-winning author Julius Lester takes older children (and adults) on an intense, personal journey through the slave experience. As he gently explains the factual horrors of slave-ship conditions, auction blocks, plantation life, and the risks associated with escape, Lester consistently prods young readers with probing questions: "How would I feel if that happened to me?" "Would you risk going to jail to help someone you didn't know?" "You are free, but are you?" Lester also asks us to imagine the voices and feelings of the African Americans in the illustrations--another brilliant call for active participation.
Rod Brown's paintings are achingly vivid, so much so that a few may be too powerful for younger children. Certain depictions are difficult even for adults to bear: a lynched man with the bloody blows of a whip marking his back; slaves stacked seven-high in the hold of a ship, packed onto shelves with less room than the drawers of a morgue; and black bodies bobbing in the ocean. These are horrible images, but nonetheless historically accurate and important to remember. Brown took seven years to create these startling images, and his careful attention is reflected in the paintings' power and emotion. Children may be initially startled by From Slave Ship to Freedom Road, but they will also be engaged and enlightened. (Ages 10 to 13)
With twenty-four magnificent paintings and a profoundly moving text, Rod Brown and Julius Lester depict the course of slavery, beginning with the ships sailing from Africa on the notorious Middle Passage and continuing through the Civil War. Julius Lester brilliantly interprets Rod Brown's powerful paintings, giving weight to both the historical facts and the emotions of the people. Invoking the memories of ancestors whose names they do not know, Mr. Lester and Mr. Brown show the kidnappings, auctions, and whippings. Equally important, they reveal the inner life of the slaves expressed in their secret worship meetings, their heroic escapes, and their joy--tinged with apprehension--about freedom. From Slave Ship to Freedom Road is a work of major importance.
A Separate Battle: Women and the Civil War (Young Reader's Hist- Civil War)
by Ina Chang
from Dutton Juvenile
Stirring vignettes from such notables as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Soujourner Truth, and Louisa May Alcott, as well as portraits of lesser known but equally courageous individuals, comprise this eye-opening third volume in the Young Readers' History of the Civil War series. Archival photographs and illustrations throughout.
Frederick Douglass: The Last Day of Slavery
by William Miller
from Lee & Low Books
Presents the story of a young African-American slave boy, who overcame the obstacles of violence and hatred to become an example for other slaves and, eventually, a scholar and an activist during a time of extreme adversity.
Melitte
by Fatima Shaik
from Dial
In 1772, years of mistreatment force thirteen-year-old Melitte to decide whether or not to run away from the Frenchman who has kept her as a slave on his poor Louisiana farm and leave the young girl who is the only person who ever loved her.
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