Book Detail

Freedom's Gifts

Publication Information
Author:  Wesley, Valery Illustrator:  Wilson, Sharon
Title:  Freedom's Gifts Date:  1997
Publisher:  Simon and Schuster City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:  0689-80269-2 ISBN, hardback:  

Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes ESOL:  
Family:   Yes Young Adult:  
Picture:   Yes

General Information:
Book Type(s):    fiction

HSE Descriptor(s):    social studies

Summary:
An African American girl visits Texas relatives and learns about the history of Juneteenth, the day for celebrating freedom from slavery.

Teaching Ideas:
This could be the introduction to a research project of the Juneteenth celebration, and the author's note would help learners understand that history. But the book would also fit into a unit on family, given the realistic characters of the testy old aunt and the petulant preteen. Students might discuss the untold parts of the story, such as what happened to Sister Sophie, how had Aunt Marshall's life changed after the first Juneteenth, and why did Lillie's family live so far away? The book could be used with other slave celebration stories, like Wright's Jumping the Broom. www.civilwar.com

Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
bullet Ethnic Groups > African-American
bullet Family > oral history
bullet History > region > U.S. history
bullet History > topic > war > Civil War
bullet Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Texas
bullet Celebration > holidays > Juneteenth


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