Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Bread for Words-- A Frederick Douglass Story: A Picture Book Review and Giveaway

Congratulations to Danielle Hammelef who won Galapagos Girl from last week's blog.

As the new blog coordinator for the SCBWI-Carolinas blog, I was excited to "meet" Shana Keller through email and schedule her blog on writing picture book biographies. When she told me that her newest biography, Bread for Words was being published by Sleeping Bear Press this month, I immediately requested a book to review and give away. Beautifully illustrated by Kayla Stark, this is another wonderful picture book to add to your personal collection.  Kindergarten through 4th grade teachers should add it to their classroom libraries and use it during Black History Month.





REVIEW

Written in the first person point of view, the book opens with this remarkable statement: "I know where I was born, not when."



Frederick wasn't at all happy about giving up his freedom and although he met his brothers and sisters at the Great House Farm, he was so sad to leave his grandmother that he didn't even play with them. 

He met Daniel, the young boy who lived in the great house and they hunted and fished together. "Except for the color of our skin, it was hard to know why we were different."



Frederick wanted to learn how to read and write, but he learned early on that it was illegal, unlawful, and unsafe for him to become literate.

Perhaps it was because he showed the master's family that he was just like Daniel, he was sent away from the plantation to live with the family's kin. Conditions were better for him and the master's wife began to teach him.




But, his new master disapproved and forbade her teaching.

"From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. If I learned to read, I could loosen the changes of bondage."

Frederick's jobs including escorting young Thomas to school and running errands for the family. When we met some hungry boys on the streets, he remembered how it felt to be hungry and he came up with a plan. 


Frederick copied letters he saw at the shipyard and wrote them on fences, brick walls, and the pavement. He copied letters from Thomas's discarded copybooks. 

Finally, 




This inspirational book ends with a summary of Frederick Douglass' life and why Ms. Keller chose to write the book as she did. Notice in some of the illustrations above, the words in bold are Frederick's exact words taken from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. In keeping with Ms. Keller's example, I put words in bold that I copied from Bread for Words that were Mr. Douglass' exact words. 


STORY NUGGETS


As I consider writing a picture book biography, I plan to look for the nugget in each book around which the person's life (and thus the biography) revolves. For Galapagos Girl, it was Ms. Cruz's passion for her native island and animals. What do you guess the story nugget is for Bread for Words? Hint: I think there are several "right" answers.


GIVEAWAY

For a chance to win my copy of this book (which I hate to give away--but I will for some fortunate reader's sake!) please leave me a comment along with your email address if you are new to my blog. Giveaway ends on February 1. For extra chances, share this on social medial. Just let me know what you do. Continental United States Only

19 comments:

Connie Porter Saunders said...

What a great book! Thanks for this chance! I've shared on Facebook & Twitter.
Blessings!
Connie
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com

Carol Gwin Nelson said...

Thanks for sharing this important book. I'm also looking at picture book biographies so this would be a good resource. I think my grandson who is just learning to read would enjoy it, too.

Danielle H. said...

Thank you for sharing about this book--I enjoyed the first person POV as it sets a feeling of immediacy and intimacy for the reader.

Danielle H. said...

I shared on social media for extra chances to win this exceptional book:

https://twitter.com/dhammelef/status/1222550700376449026

https://yesreaderwriterpoetmusician.tumblr.com/post/190534015757/bread-for-words-a-frederick-douglass-story-a

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/570620215288725211/

Carol Baldwin said...

Thank you Carol, connie, and Danielle. You're all in! (Connie and Danielle, you're in extra times. Thanks for sharing!

Sandra Warren said...

This sounds like a very important and amazing book. Thank you for sharing it.

Jana Leah B said...

Another good one to add to my niece & nephew's library. Thanks for the giveaway!
turtle6422 at gmail dot com

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Jana Leah and Sandra. It is a great book!

Barbara Younger said...

Love the words and art of this lovely book!

Joan Y. Edwards said...

Dear Carol,
You share so many wonderful books. I like the snippets of the story and the illustrations you shared from Bread for Words. It helps to see who Frederick Douglas was and how he became to be as an adult.

Please don't count me in on the drawing.

Celebrate you and all you do to help our world be a better place by inspiring us with stories.

Never Give Up
Joan

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks for your lovely comment, Joan!

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Barbara. You would love this book.

Joan Y. Edwards said...

Dear Carol,
You are welcome.

Never Give Up
Joan

Sandra Warren said...

This sounds like a very important and amazing book. Thank you for sharing it.

Theresa Milstein said...

This really looks amazing! And I'm glad you were the one to write it.

Rosi said...

I'll be on the lookout for this book. It sounds great. Thanks for the post.

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks for your comments, Theresa and Rosi. You're both in!

The Underwriter said...

I appreciate all the positive feedback! What a thrilling process this has been and seeing these comments makes it all the more special. I hope you all enjoy the story and I truly thank you for the support! History has never been more fun. :-)

Carol Baldwin said...

You are welcome, Shana!

PUSH-PULL MORNING: Dog Powered Poems About Matter and Energy

I wouldn't have believed that a book about matter and energy would be read by the picture book crowd, except that my third-grade and kin...