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To Be a Slave

Author Julius Lester
Illustrated by Tom Feelings
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Paperback
$8.99 US
Penguin Young Readers | Puffin Books
5.62"W x 8.25"H x 0.46"D  
On sale Dec 18, 2000 | 176 Pages | 9780141310015
Grade 5 & Up
Reading Level: Lexile 1040L | Fountas & Pinnell Z
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A Newbery Honor Book

What was it like to be a slave?  Listen to the words and learn about the lives of countless slaves and ex-slaves, telling about their forced journey from Africa to the United States, their work in the fields and houses of their owners, and their passion for freedom.  You will never look at life the same way again.


"The dehumanizing aspects of slavery are made abundantly clear, but a testament to the human spirit of those who endured or survived this experience is exalted."—Children's Literature
Julius Lester was a celebrated author whose accolades include a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award. He was also a National Book Award finalist, a National Book Critics Circle nominee, and a recipient of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. In addition to his critically acclaimed writing career, Mr. Lester distinguished himself as a civil rights activist, musician, photographer, radio talk-show host, and professor. For 32 years he taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. View titles by Julius Lester
Tom Feelings has received numerous awards for his art in books. In 1972, he was the first African-American artist to win a Caldecott Honor, for Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book, and in 1975 he won a second Caldecott Honor for Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book, both written by Muriel Feelings. Mr. Feelings taught art at the University of South Carolina. It was during that time he published perhaps his best-known work, The Middle Passage, which won the 1996 Coretta Scott King Award. Mr. Feelings was working on finishing his last picture book, I Saw Your Face, a collaboration with the poet Kwame Dawes, not long before his death in 2003. View titles by Tom Feelings
  • WINNER
    Newbery Honor Book

About

A Newbery Honor Book

What was it like to be a slave?  Listen to the words and learn about the lives of countless slaves and ex-slaves, telling about their forced journey from Africa to the United States, their work in the fields and houses of their owners, and their passion for freedom.  You will never look at life the same way again.


"The dehumanizing aspects of slavery are made abundantly clear, but a testament to the human spirit of those who endured or survived this experience is exalted."—Children's Literature

Author

Julius Lester was a celebrated author whose accolades include a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award. He was also a National Book Award finalist, a National Book Critics Circle nominee, and a recipient of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. In addition to his critically acclaimed writing career, Mr. Lester distinguished himself as a civil rights activist, musician, photographer, radio talk-show host, and professor. For 32 years he taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. View titles by Julius Lester
Tom Feelings has received numerous awards for his art in books. In 1972, he was the first African-American artist to win a Caldecott Honor, for Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book, and in 1975 he won a second Caldecott Honor for Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book, both written by Muriel Feelings. Mr. Feelings taught art at the University of South Carolina. It was during that time he published perhaps his best-known work, The Middle Passage, which won the 1996 Coretta Scott King Award. Mr. Feelings was working on finishing his last picture book, I Saw Your Face, a collaboration with the poet Kwame Dawes, not long before his death in 2003. View titles by Tom Feelings

Awards

  • WINNER
    Newbery Honor Book

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