Woelfle, Gretchen. Answering The Cry For Freedom. Boyd’s Mills/Calkins Creek 2016
238p $18.95 ISBN 978-1-62979-306-1 ms/jr Collective
biography E-BN
Thirteen important African
American figures who were fighting against slavery at the time of the American
Revolution are profiled in this excellent illustrated history book. We meet
such colorful characters as Jarena Lee, a house slave who gave up her family
and home to travel widely preaching against slavery, Philadelphia’s own Richard
Allen, who founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Sally Hemings,
who succumbed to Thomas Jefferson’s every whim in exchange for her children’s
future freedom. Each chapter includes
dates of birth and death, biographical details, and stories that have come down
through the ages about these larger-than-life individuals who paved the way for
the Abolitionist Movement and the Underground Railroad. The type is large and
easy-to-read for middle-school and even elementary students, but the
information will appeal to all ages, even adults. There is a lot to learn in
these pages. The book also includes
extensive research notes, a good bibliography, citation information, and guides
for further research on each freedom fighter.
The illustrations are subtle and enhance the text, done in
black-and-white drawings by Gregory Christie.
This one is a must-have for public and school libraries, even those
serving older kids, because the information is so compelling and is largely
unknown by most readers.
Summary: Thirteen
important African American figures who were fighting against slavery at the
time of the American Revolution are profiled in this excellent illustrated
history book.
African Americans —Carol
Kennedy
