Non-Fiction Monday: I Want to Be Free
One on my favorite things to do when I go out of town is to visit the local bookstore. I was fortunate to spend time at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, CO last week.
I was not going to buy books and stuff my suitcase (already too full with books at brought.) But then I stumbled onto to Joseph Slate’s I Want to Be Free. You know his work, don’t you? Miss Bindergarten?
Well, Slate has written a powerful narrative of a runaway slave with an iron ring still locked onto his ankle. He sings, “Before I die, I want to be free, but the Big Man says, You belong to me.”
The slave knows that until the ankle ring is removed he will always belong to the “Big Man”. Along the way, he rescues an orphaned slave child and well, the rest you will have to read for yourself.
The author notes in the end lead you to another story by Rudyard Kipling which would be wonderful to pair for comparison.
E.B. Lewis’ watercolors complement the text evoking a strong emotional response. It is evident that the illustrator researched background information before painting.
Title: I Want to Be Free
Author: Joseph Slate
Date Published: 2000
Pages: unpaged
Grade: 2-+
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 978-0-399-24342-4
Source of Book: Purchased for the school collection.
This book is an excellent choice for libraries. It must be remembered when the 2009 CYBILS nominations open next October. I am excited to try it with fourth graders this week as well as incorporating some of my learnings from last week.
Nonfiction Monday is hosted over at Jean Little Library. Head over to see other great posts.
Happy Reading.
MsMac
