Almost To Freedom: A Touching Story of Slavery and the Quest for Freedom
Written: May 07 '04
Product Rating:
Pros: An excellent book, gently told, masterfully illustrated, with a message for everyone.
Cons: None, really
The Bottom Line: A must-read for every child, especially for those unfamiliar with the harsh realities of slavery. Its gentle telling is easily "digested."
daphnec's Full Review: Vaunda Micheaux Nelson - Almost to Freedom
Almost to Freedom, (Copyright 2003, originally by Carolrhoda Books, Inc.), written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Colin Bootman, is a beautiful, touching story of a family's experiences with slavery and their ultimate quest for freedom. The dominant themes are slavery and freedom, and we are given a quick peek into the inner workings of the Underground Railroad, a system of transportation and safe havens that assisted a number of slaves in their quest for freedom.
I purchased the book at a Scholastic book fair at my school. The cover was rather dark, gloomy and somber, but I was drawn by the sad eyes of Lindy, the little girl featured on the cover. I'm so glad I chose the book, as its timeless message was told in such a tender voice that it actually touched a place deep in my heart.
Years ago, I went through a period where I read every slave narrative I could find, all written or dictated by adults. This story, told by Lindy's rag doll Sally, revealed the harsh realities of slavery without preaching. So gentle was its telling, I'd be willing to share Almost To Freedom with even the very young, as it lacks the harshness and nasty name-calling of the more real-to-life adult narratives.
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is new to me. I'd never heard of her before today, but I'll be checking out her other books, Ready? Set, Raymond!, Mayfield Crossing, and Possibilities, in the near future. She is an excellent author, with a special talent for speaking to children (and the child in us all) in a voice that is easily heard.
We live in an age where history is easily forgotten, largely because people are so busy living today that they forget that we all started out someplace else, influenced by someone else's actions and decisions. My interest in history has grown as I approached and reached middle age, beginning when I was a young mother and novice teacher trying to impart an illusive meaningfulness to the children in my life. I have found that literature is not only a safe channel for teaching life's harsh realities, it is quite likely to make a more lasting impression on a young mind than an encyclopedia-style accounting of history, because context lends clarity.
I recommend this story for the innocent young child and the old cynic alike. I am concerned that our young people of all races, ethnicities and belief systems are growing up thinking that events of the past are either irrelevant or never really happened. So often, my own children have tried to explain to me that the things that were important "in my day" are no big deal, only changing their tune when some of my unimportant observations came to pass in their own lives.
In the same way that our children need to know about the atrocities of Hitler, Mussolini and so many other tyrants, they need to know that our country is only a few generations removed from some of the most serious breaches of human rights of, well, of human history. Every genocide was wrong, every act of prejudice and discrimination, regardless of origin, was, is, equally wrong. If we want our civilization to grow and improve, old stories told in new ways, as well as the rough copies of first hand experience, are necessary.
I strongly recommend that you read, and share, Almost To Freedom at your earliest convenience.
Sally, a tattered rag doll, tells the story of a young girl and her parents as they escape from slavery and start the dangerous journey along the Unde...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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