PICTURE BOOK - Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan

Eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life
Illustrated by the author

2016 Atheneum Books for Young Readers, A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book

HC $17.99
48 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.32- 1561 ratings

My rating:  5 (of course!)

Endpapers:  close up fo the script from purchass and sales in the 1800s

Illustrations:  pen, ink, and watercolor

1^st line/s:  "Mrs. Mary Fairchilds
I mourn the passing of
my husband, Cado Fairchilds.
He managed our estate alone.
Eleven Negro slaves,
they carried out the work
that made our estate prosper.
He never hired an overseer."

My comments:  Two free-style verses for each of the eleven slaves, plus an introductory free verse about/from the widowed owner of the eleven slaves - with incredible illustrations for each.  Oh my!

Goodreads:  Newbery Honor Book
Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
          Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, Ashley Bryan offers a moving and powerful picture book that contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away.
          Imagine being looked up and down and being valued as less than chair. Less than an ox. Less than a dress. Maybe about the same as…a lantern.
          You, an object. An object to sell.
          In his gentle yet deeply powerful way, Ashley Bryan goes to the heart of how a slave is given a monetary value by the slave owner, tempering this with the one thing that CAN’T be bought or sold—dreams. Inspired by the actual will of a plantation owner that lists the worth of each and every one of his “workers”, Bryan has created collages around that document, and others like it. Through fierce paintings and expansive poetry he imagines and interprets each person’s life on the plantation, as well as the life their owner knew nothing about—their dreams and pride in knowing that they were worth far more than an Overseer or Madam ever would guess. Visually epic, and never before done, this stunning picture book is unlike anything you’ve seen. 

The Village That Vanished - Ann Grifalconi

Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2002
$16.99/paper $6.99
a tale told in the tradition of African storytelling
40 pages
Endpapers: Rust

Abikanile (ah-bee-ka-NEE-lah) and her mother Njemile (n-jeh-MEE-leh) courageously lead the people of their Yao village to safety from the slave traders. Slave traders would attack the surroundings of a village, kidnapping the men and boys working there. This would leave the village attended by women, children, and elders, with no one to protect it so they could swoop in and easily kidnap the rest. HOW ON EARTH COULD PEOPLE DO THIS TO EACH OTHER? Anywasy, this is the story of how the mother figured out how to make it look like there had never been a village, and the daughter figured out how to get across the raging river without a boat when none of them could swim.

A fine tale, an introduction or addition to the concept of the slave trade in Africa.

I did a little research about where the setting of this book might be. Yao or waYao is a major ethnic and linguistic group found at the southern end of Lake Malawi on the eastern coast of Africa. The territory covers parts of modern-day northern Mozambique, Malawi, and Tanzania. They speak a Bantu language. There are currently about two million Yao, most of whom are Islamic.