Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick Douglass in His Own Words [Hardcover]

Frederick Douglass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 1993

Illus. in black-and-white. Opening note by Coretta Scott King. For the first time, the most important account ever written of a childhood in slavery is accessible to young readers. From his days as a young boy on a plantation to his first months as a freeman in Massachusetts, here are Douglass's own firsthand experiences vividly recounted--expertly excerpted and powerfully illustrated.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her brief foreword to this significant book, an abridgment of the first of three autobiographies penned by the one-time slave and abolitionist, Coretta Scott King notes that her late husband was "inspired and deeply moved" by Douglass's account of his early years. It is easy to see why, for the reader becomes utterly involved in Douglass's eloquent, quietly passionate account of his life as a young slave. Born in Maryland around 1817, Douglass lived on a plantation with his grandparents until the age of six, when he was sent to Baltimore. He served a variety of masters, working intermittently in the city and on farms, and vacillated between feeling "wearied in body and broken in spirit" and being fiercely determined to flee to freedom. Douglass's dream was realized in 1838, when he escaped to the North and found work as a caulker in New Bedford, Mass. The preservation of Douglass's original vocabulary, spelling and punctuation lends this trenchant account a formality unfamiliar to today's youngsters, yet the passage of 150 years has not rendered it any less immediate or piercing. McCurdy's distinctive woodcuts emphasize his subjects' vulnerability and their dignity. Ages 9-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-In 1845, Douglass wrote an autobiographical account of his years as a slave. In an attempt to make the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass more accessible to children, McCurdy has edited and illustrated it, rearranging only a few paragraphs for "clarity." Unfortunately, this results in a choppy text that lacks the smooth-flowing ease of the eloquent original. In eliminating details of the young man's masters and family, as well as many references to dates and ages, much of the story's impact is lost, not to mention Douglass's effortless blending of history and social commentary. Most notably absent are his repeated comments about how "religious" slaveowners were often among the cruelest and most heartless. McCurdy prefaces each chapter with brief commentary, some of which switches confusingly from past to present tense. His stylized woodcuts attractively foreshadow events in that chapter, and an epilogue explains Douglass's escape. This abridgement may lead children to read the complete Narrative; however, Patricia and Frederick McKissack's biography (Childrens, 1987) will be a more likely enticement.
Sandy Kirkpatrick, Benicia Public Library, CA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (December 28, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679846522
• ISBN-13: 978-0679846529
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,123,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A microcosm of the contradictions of slavery, June 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick Douglass in His Own Words (Paperback)

With so much of the sordid history of slavery in the United States behind us, many of the major wounds have been healed. However, that does not mean that we should forget what it did to people. Slavery turned otherwise kindly people into beasts. Eventually, it was the wedge that drove two segments of the U.S. into overt warfare.
Frederick Douglass was one of the most articulate voices opposed to slavery among free blacks. A natural writer, he describes his life in slavery and how dehumanizing it was. The time he spent in slavery was a microcosm of most of the contradictions of slavery. Taken from his mother at a young age, he knew nothing about his white father. A slave was property to their owner, somewhat on a par with a horse or cattle. And yet, many slaveholders fathered children with their female slaves. Many slaves were severely beaten or killed for disobedience. Chivalrous gentleman who would not tolerate a man beating a horse would speak approval of similar actions being performed on a defenseless slave. Douglass was beaten many times, even to the point of possible permanent injury, for actions that were simply human. Finally, there was the bizarre spectacle of slaves and free blacks living in the same areas, sometimes even being relatives by blood or marriage. The woman who eventually became his wife was a free woman while he was a slave, joining him after he escaped to freedom.
It does us all good to be reminded how destructive slavery was to the structure of American society. Douglass lived on both sides of the issue and his story of the slave years are a powerful tale of human destruction. Written for older children, this book should be required reading for graduation from high school.