Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan

Description

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 person 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. This gentle yet deeply powerful way 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,” the author 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.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Other editions

• 

  Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought...

  • 2016-09-13
  • 56 pages
  • Paperback
  • Simon and Schuster

Similar books

• 

  Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life

  By Ashley Bryan

  Maybe about the same as ... a lantern. You, an object. An object to sell. 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.

• 

  Freedom River

  By Doreen Rappaport

  Describes an incident in the life of John Parker, an ex-slave who became a successful businessman in Ripley, Ohio, and who repeatedly risked his life to help other slaves escape to freedom.

• 

  Beautiful Blackbird

  By Ashley Bryan

  A tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia gets new life in this picture book adaptation from Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan about appreciating one’s heritage and discovering the beauty within.

• 

  Infinite Hope: A Black Artist's Journey from World War II to Peace

  By Ashley Bryan

  But now, he tells his story. The story of the kind people who supported him. The story of the bright moments that guided him through the dark. And the story of his passion for art that would save him time and time again.

• 

  Follow Me to Freedom: Leading and Following as an Ordinary Radical

  By Shane Claiborne

  Followers of Christ yearn to see the world changed in compassionate, positive, effective ways. As prophetic voices, Shane Claiborne and John Perkins lead the way in this move to be the hands, feet and heart of Jesus.

• 

  Almost to Freedom

  By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

  At once heart-wrenching and uplifting, this story about friendship and the strength of the human spirit will touch the lives of all readers long after the journey has ended.

• 

  The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery

  By Judith Bloom Fradin, Dennis Brindell Fradin

  Paired for the first time, acclaimed authors Dennis and Judith Fradin and Pura Belpr award-winning illustrator Velasquez provide readers with an inspiring tale of how one man's journey to freedom in 1856 helped spark an abolitionist ...

• 

  Seeking Freedom: The Untold Story of Fortress Monroe and the Ending of Slavery in America

  By Selene Castrovilla

  This is the first children's nonfiction book about a Black unsung hero who remains relevant today and to the Black Lives Matter movement. On the night Virginia secedes from the Union, three enslaved men approach Fortress Monroe.

• 

  Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass (with audio recording)

  By Lesa Cline-Ransome

  This picture book biography chronicles the youth of Frederick Douglass, one of the most prominent African American figures in American history.

• 

  Growing Up in Slavery: Stories of Young Slaves as Told By Themselves

  By Yuval Taylor

  Ten slaves—all under the age of 19—tell stories of enslavement, brutality, and dreams of freedom in this collection culled from full-length autobiographies.