Category/genre: Multicultural Literature (2 of 2)

Title: Night Boat to Freedom

Author: Margot Theis Raven

Illustrator: E.B.Lewis

Publisher: New York, Melanie Kroupa Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Date of Publication: 2006

Recommended age: 9-12

Rationale for age level: Children at this age are beginning to be able to appreciate symbolic language and make hypothetical judgements. They are starting to be sensitive to complexity in human feelings and relationships.

Annotation/review: The author used several facts from the Slave Narrative Collection, which was compiled in the 1930's using interviews with surviving former slaves, to write this story. It is a tale woven from 2 accounts and influenced by hundreds of others. Twelve year old Christmas John takes on a huge responsibility when his Granny Judith asks him to take a passenger across the Ohio River to freedom in the dark of night. He repeats this dangerous journey many times over a period of four years until the danger of getting caught becomes too great. Then he must make a decision that will change his and Granny Judith's life forever.

Illustrations: The illustrations create an atmosphere of tension, suspense, and fear. You can feel the boy's emotions in his expressions and the slant of darkness. The colors of Granny Judith's freedom quilt shine through the darkness of the illustrations like a beacon. The reds are brilliant in comparison to the dark hues presented throughout the rest of the images. Red, it turns out, has a very significant part in the story and the illustrations emphasize this point very well.

Suggested use: This would be a great book to use for the study of African American History. Since the Slave Narrative Collection is mentioned, I would try to make this collection available for use with students. It would be a wonderful writing activity to use the narratives like the author and choose 2 or more narratives to write our own historical fiction.