“They told him that he was a slave, that he must bend his back, walk low, with eyes cast down, think not at all and sleep without a dream. But every beat of hoe against a twisted root, each narrow furrow reaching toward the hill, flight of a bird across the open field, creak of the ox-cart on the road—all spoke to him of freedom. For Frederick Douglass had his eyes upon a star.”
If all history books were written in Graham’s style, no child would ever say, “I hate history.” With lyrical descriptions of time and place, she quickly drops the reader into her subject’s setting. The fear and despair of the opening scene are palpable. Graham doesn’t relate facts, she tells a story of real people with real feelings and motivations.
Prior to reading this book, I knew almost nothing about Frederick Douglass other than his name, that he began life as a slave, and that he worked for the abolition of slavery. Graham’s extensive research allowed her to integrate Douglass’s own words into her narrative, which brings him to life.
Graham doesn’t make Douglass a saint, but she takes us through his lifetime of dedication to the cause of freedom, not just for slaves but for anyone fighting oppression. We see what he suffered, what he gained, and what he lost.
Graham closes the story with his words:
“Frederick Douglass’ words reach us across the years:
Though I am more closely connected and identified with one class of outraged, oppressed and enslaved people, I cannot allow myself to be insensible to the wrongs and suffering of any part of the great family of man. I am not only an American slave, but a man, and as such, am bound to use my powers for the welfare of the whole human brotherhood.… I believe that the sooner the wrongs of the whole human family are made known, the sooner those wrongs will be reached.”
Douglass’s story is intertwined with other people who were also just names in history books for me. What I “knew” about John Brown was that he was an abolitionist who took the law into his own hands and organized a raid on Harpers Ferry, and that anyone with such religious fervor must have been a bit “off.” In Graham’s hands, Brown becomes human. He was a great friend of Douglass and he was willing to risk everything for what he believed in whether anyone agreed with him or not.
As much as I appreciated this biographical novel, there are some things parents will want to know.
We’re told in the Foreword:
“While some of Graham’s language may feel outdated to contemporary readers—such as her use of terms like “pickaninny”—it is important to recognize that she was writing from the perspective of the times in which Douglass lived and also reflecting the norms of her own era.”
I completely agree. The story wouldn’t be true if we whitewashed the attitudes of the era. However, because it’s likely today’s readers will be even more sensitive to the use of the word n****r than pickaninny, it seems fair to warn you that the word is used nearly sixty times. Readers will also encounter multiple uses of the words d**n and d****d.
I believe Graham’s intention was to be authentic in expressing the strong feelings of the time rather than to be offensive. I also don’t think her intended audience was young children. I recommend parents read the book first before deciding at what age individual children might be ready for it. As a family read-aloud, it would be an excellent opportunity to discuss the selflessness and heroism of the Abolitionists and how and why our attitudes have changed.