Customer Reviews

Freedom's Pen: A Story Based on the Life of Freed Slave and Author Phillis Wheatley (Daughters of the Faith Series)

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Freedom's Pen is a compelling and tender true story that chronicles the life of a seven-year-old African girl who is kidnapped by slave traders, survives a harrowing voyage to America, and is purchased by a Boston family. Instead of receiving the beatings she fears, Phillis (named after the name of her slave ship) is treated with kindness. She brings her love of language and storytelling from Africa to Boston, where she is tutored in reading and writing. At twelve, she writes poetry that stirs the soul. She is first published at thirteen. She writes about Jesus being the Savior of the slaves as well as the white people. Phillis knows her words are hard for some to swallow, but it is the truth. She suffers persecution for being different from the other slaves, but she focuses on her gratitude to God to see her through. Inspiring story!

Wendy Lawton never disappoints. This story not only provided a good read, but accurate history as well. Phillis Wheatley is as real on the pages of Freedom's Pen as she was in colonial America. I am so impressed with this series that I ordered the entire set to loan to my homeschooling friends.

A tragic beginning, an unlikely intervention, and a life of hope and love... in the hands of a master storyteller. Award-winning author, Wendy Lawton, does it again in her most recent installment of The Daughters of the Faith series. Freedom's Pen is an historical fiction stand-alone billed for eight to twelve-year-old girls, but a book even the most sophisticated reader will enjoy.

Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped into slavery, sold on an auction block and transplanted into pre-revolutionary war-brewing Boston. She lived during a time when slave children remained uneducated, women were rarely published and most didn't believe a slave could learn to read much less become a celebrated writer. Despite all odds, she became a popular poet, the first African-American to publish a book, and one of the first writers to earn a living from her work. Maker of literary and American history Phillis Wheatley lived a life of humility and grace.

Lawton retells Phillis's early years with captivating scintillation. She flawlessly knits known facts and fictional details into a riveting story of loss, hope, and triumph. The reader is transported to Africa, the horrors of a slave ship, and then to the affluent Wheatley home in a way that is historically accurate, but without so much detail as to overwhelm young readers. Lawton handles heavy themes with an eye toward age-appropriateness.

The characters are riveting, real, and complex: from the cruelty of the slave traders, to the generosity and caring of the slave-owning Wheatleys, to Phillis with her heart-wrenching loss, struggle, and ultimate victory. Affluent visitors and resentful slaves in the Wheatley household add additional tension. Faith and prevalent Christian themes are explored and lived out without being preachy.

The ending comes quickly but leaves the reader satisfied. A back-of-book glossary and non-fiction notes add fullness and closure to the reading experience. Highly recommended for anyone with a bent toward history, humanity, or hope.

From the Christian Library Journal; used by permission.

Freedom's Pen is the amazing true story of a little girl who was brought to America as a slave but found freedom in her writing and through her faith in Jesus Christ.

The book is written for younger readers, but it won't disappoint adults either. It is not only the story of young Phillis Wheatley's coming of age as a slave with an innate talent for language and storytelling and the unusual privilege of an education. It is also the story of the coming of age of the United States in realizing that all people long for freedom.

Now I want to read the rest of the books in this series!

I absolutely loved this book! Anyone who holds a dream in their heart, with the hopes of making a difference, will be encouraged by this illustration of God's favor and provision. This is a story about the resilience of the human spirit and the remarkable influence of one simple servant.

Janxa's gift was piercingly pure, her persuasiveness eternal. Being pulled away from everything familiar, she stood firm in her small frame. A fascination for the written word carried Janxa high above the oppression of her time. Incurring deep sadness through unbearable conditions, this tiny hero spent every labored breath being as true as she knew how to be - to her people and to herself. Seeing through the eyes of this curious little girl created a delightful story.

Every once in a while I pick up a book, and find myself changed when the last page is turned. This is one of those books. Good stories draw out places in our heart that we have forgotten all about. We all have them, circumstances that seem unbearable. Stories like this one grant the courage to overcome.

Having read each of Wendy Lawton's, Daughters of The Faith series, I was anxious for Phillis Wheatley's story to come out and Freedom's Pen did not disappoint. I was so taken by little Janxa (African name given by Wendy) that I dreaded the moment I knew was coming when she would be swept away from her family and all she knew.

Janxa's tender yet determined character and the close bond between Janxa and her father adds to the drama that soon unfolds.

This amazing story of a sickly little seven-year-old slave girl, and what happens to her on middle passage, and then in the home of the Wheatleys kept me turning the pages. Through the writing of this truly awesome life of Phillis, Wendy Lawton depicts so well the touch and direction of the hand of God. If you don't know the rest of the story, you must read Freedom's Pen. Children will see that age doesn't matter. They can still accomplish great things. Once read I can't wait to pass Wendy Lawton's books on to my grandchildren.

I was thrilled to read Wendy Lawton's "Freedom's Pen" for two reasons: I studied the writings of Colonial American slave Phillis Wheatley in an American Literature course and found her a fascinating and compelling character. Also, my daughter teaches disabled children at the Phillis Wheatley School in Kansas City, MO.

As I read Freedom's Pen, I wondered how many at our local school actually knew the story of Phillis, and determined that I would donate this book to their library, since I believe it should be required reading.

Kids who struggle with the ridicule of others, for example, will take much inspiration from the fact that Phillis--even though she was a slave in a prosperous family who treated her well--still endured persecution, even from fellow slaves who were jealous of her superior living conditions. She would regularly end a day in which she'd been unfairly ostracized by writing her heart out. Eventually, her poetry promoted her in society both in America and England.

When I read Phillis's story, I can't help but think of a Scripture verse. "Your gifts will make a place for you." This young girl's gifts for storytelling, her capacity for language, and her humility earned her an enduring place in American history--and in American literature, too.

Thank you, Ms. Lawton, for a superb book about one of my favorite historical characters. I can't wait to pass this one on to the Phillis Wheatley School!

Freedom's Pen is an inspiring story about a girl who was first named Janxa. Janxa lived in Africa and was captured by the Tubab (white people) and sent to America. Later, she was named Phillis after her slave ship. She was sold as a slave and adopted by a kind family named the Wheatleys. She was tutored by Mrs. Wheatley's daughter, Mary. Because of this, she started to write poetry at age 13 and eventually was freed.

I liked this story because Phillis never gave up regardless of her position.

By Carter Nelson, age 10

Freedom's Pen is an engrossing story about the woman Phillis Wheatley. We are taken from her childhood and experience her desire from a very early age to to create poems to commemorate other people. I loved the curiosity that Phillis has from a very early age, and her desire to learn where she belongs in the world. Although she has so often been told that everything that happens is the will of Allah, she is taken to America in the most harrowing of experiences, through a slave boat.

God's hand was on Phillis's life and he brought her into the family of the Wheatleys. She begins to read and write and, in the midst of a world where African Americans were treated as though they did not have a soul, begins to create incredible and beautiful poetry.

Wendy Lawton gives us a beautiful and endearing portrait of America's first published African American. We feel as though we are there with Phillis and have the chance to look through the eyes of someone who saw God's will and love in her life despite her slavery

Freedom's Pen is a story of a young slave girl who comes to America and becomes a famous poet. This is an inspirational book to young poets and kids all around the U.S.A. I give this book a thumbs up. By Suzanne Alvernaz age 12.