A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass

This accessible biography for children examines Douglass's amazing life with easy-to-understand facts and details, alongside elegant illustrations.

A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass is a great book for aiding in the study of the events leading up to the Civil War and the African American leaders that led the revolution for freedom. The story of the life of Douglass is told on an elementary level and in narrative form. It begins with his birth into slavery on a farm in Maryland and continues through the struggles faced by any slave born during the time period, and ends with Douglass being able to see the Thirteenth Amendment passed which outlawed slavery. I would use this book in my classroom when studying pre and post Civil War.

Perfect book illustrations that bring the context of Fredrick Douglass's life to life. Adler did an amazing job telling Douglass's story involving his childhood and adulthood. Fredrick Douglass was taught to read from one of his masters wife that lead to him reading other books and teaching other slaves to read. He fought back against one of slave owners leading to him running away which lead to him meeting his first wife Anna Murray that helped him escape slavery. Slavery is explained well to help you understand how slaves were sold and bought. The part where the slaves found freedom was chilling, I felt like I was living through the book and was set free.

SUMMARY
Frederick Douglass was an African American born into slavery. After being a slave for most of his life, he planned his escape. He fled to New York where worked as a sweeper and a loader. After a few months, he began to write his memoir.Throughout the Civil War he continued to speak out against prejudice and racism. He died at age 77.

REVIEW
I think that the book does an exceptional job at highlighting the key events in Frederick Douglass' life. I thought it was interesting that the illustrator actually included an illustration of a slave being whipped. The picture showed Frederick's Aunt Hester tied to a hook and being whipped by the slaveowner as he hid in the closet. I think it's smart to not hide the cruelty of slavery from show more young kids. It's important that the understand what happened and how it affected slaves. I like that there is a gradual build up through Frederick's life and that it simply doesn't skip from one key event to the next. show less

In my opinion this is a great book. One reason why I like this book is because the illustrations fit the written text. For example, the book states, “Young Frederick Bailey was Sophia Auld’s first slave. She was a good-hearted woman and taught Frederick the alphabet.” The picture on this page shows Sophia Auld reading to him. Another example is when the text says “Frederick read the Bible and went to a church Sabbath school for black children. When he was fourteen he taught at the school.” The picture on this page shows Frederick reading to younger children. Another example is when the text says, “His house became a stop on the Underground Railroad, a series of ‘safe houses’ for runaway slaves on their way further north show more to freedom.” The picture on this page shows Fredericks house in the background, and slaves hiding near trees talking to Frederick. Another reason why I liked this book is because it had quotes from what Frederick Douglass had said himself. For example, it explained how Frederick said, “In the hottest summer and coldest winter I was kept almost naked- no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarse tow linen shirt reading only to my knees.” Another quote from Frederick was, “every Southern breeze was ‘tainted and freighted with Negro blood.’” Another example is when Frederick fought his master, he said, “I was nothing before, I was a man now.” I liked being able to hear Frederick’s own words and experiences. I liked this book because there are important dates from 1818-1895 listed on the last page. The last page included facts such as, “1818- Born in Talbot County, Maryland,” “1826- Sent to live as a slave of Hugh and Sophia Auld in Baltimore, Maryland,” “1838-Escaped to New York,” “1895- Died in Washington, D.C., On February 20,” etc. The only one thing that I didn’t like about this book was that it ended with Frederick’s death. The last page said, “He had hoped to see blacks and whites throughout the united states living together in peace. He never did. on February 20, 1895, after attending a meeting on women’s rights, Frederick had a heart attack and died. He was seventy-seven years old.” I wished that the author went on and talked about the impact that Frederick Douglass still has today. For example, the author could’ve talked about how Frederick Douglass is taught in schools, etc. Overall, I do think it was a great biography. The book was very engaging and organized. I think the overall message of the book was to inform readers about the life of Frederick Douglass and let readers know that they can do anything they put their mind to! show less

A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass is all about the informational life of Frederick Douglass. I liked this book for a few reasons but either way liked it! The first reasons is the illustration style of the book, the way they make him seem fits the biography's flow. You can tell from the cover and when he fought the slave owner that they were important parts, the artwork did them both justice. I also liked the topic that it was about, a biography about an amazing individual in a not so amazing time of America's history. Writing about a topic and making sure to not leave anything out in the mans life, including slavery and war, was a good call on the authors part.

This book was a wonderful story of the life of Frederick Douglass. I loved how it portrayed the story through the illustrations. There were beautiful illustrations in the book! This book really helps the reader understand the life and living conditions of a slave during the times of Frederick Douglass. This book portrays Frederick Douglass as a hero and definitely emphasizes the impact he had on slaves and the issue in history.