Customer Reviews

Jump Ship to Freedom (Arabus Family Saga)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think that this book is great for all ages. My fifth grade class read this book together and it inspired many conversations. This book was a fun and interesting way to learn about what was happening during the revolution. This is just one of the books in this trilogy. The detail in this book was amazing! I found this book a great pleasure and I don't think any minute reading this was a waste of time!

Jump Ship to Freedom is Volume 2 of the Arabus Family History. I have not read the first volume, about his father who was paid by his owner to serve in his stead during the American Revolution. How he helped General Washington or earned the respect of many white men and a certain fame among Blacks. But this book stands on its own merit.

Fourteen-year-old Daniel Arabus and his mother are slaves in Connecticut, the property of Captain Ivers. Their secret dream is to buy their freedom with the soldiers' notes (military scrip) which Daniel's father had earned for his war service. That is, if there ever is a federal government which will honor those notes.

Daniel is obsessed with obtaining those notes for the future--his owners virtually stole them from his mother. So he concocts a clever plan to steal them back, but sets in motion a chain of events which threatens to take him by ship to be sold down in the West Indies' cane fields--a kind of liviing hell.

He must use his wits and his courage, plus call his father's memory to mind in order to combat his harsh master, a string of bad luck and his own poor judgment. But he remains true to the way his brave father would want him to behave--even honoring a promise to a man on his deathbed, despite his natural desire to save his own neck. Daniel becomes the unwilling messenger for a major political issue as the delegates meet in Philadelphia to write our honored but much-maligned Constitution. A scrappy youth proves his integrity and true grit--honoring his father's memory--as he meets some famous men in post Revolutionary history. An exciting book which will captivate the reader while teaching about our American past.

Jump Ship to Freedom

Daniel Arabus raced across the dock with Big Tom a hairsbreadth behind him. He had to make it to Samuels Tavern, he just had to. If Big Tom caught him he would be brought back to Captain Ivers, tied to the Junius Bruntus mainmast (which was Captain Ivers ship), whipped, and sold to the Cane Fields in the South. Big Tom grabbed Daniels shirt, and Daniel knew he had only one choicehe jumped into the water. Would he make it, or would Big Tom catch him?

Hi... I just read Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier.

Daniel Arabus was a 14 year-old slave for a horrible master named Captain Ivers. Captain Ivers takes Daniel on the Junius Bruntus (which is something Daniel has always to do), but taking Daniel on the Junius Bruntus is a trick! Captain Ivers really is taking Daniel to the South to be sold to the Cane Fields instead of New York, where Daniel thought they were going! Will Daniel escape, or will Captain Ivers sell him to the Cane Fields?

I feel Im sort of like Daniel in a way (but thankfully, Im not a slave!) because Im courageous, strong-willed, and a little stubborn! I strongly liked this book because it didnt have much cursing, was pretty interesting, and had some old history in it. My favorite part in Jump Ship to Freedom was when Daniel made a small fire in Captain Ivers quarters and ran out of the room screaming that there was a huge fire and jumped of the Junius Bruntus to the New York harbor. One important thing this book lacked though was humor. Ive only read two or three parts that were funny. I think that Jump Ship to Freedom is for 4-6 grade readers because its a long read, has mild violence, and blood.

Daniel was traveling with an elderly Quaker when he saw it. The Quaker needed a doctor badly and Daniel went into a Tavern to get one, and when he talked to the keeper to ask for a doctor he noticed a man hammering a poster to the wall. Daniel looked closer, and he saw it was a wanted posterof him! Captain Ivers was onto him. Daniel started to run up the stairs

"Help there is a fire!" Mrs. Ivers said. Daniel Arabus sneeks into Mrs. Ivers room and steels his fathers soldiers notes. Daniel Arabus is a black slave boy who wants to buy his mom and his freedom. When Mr. Ivers takes Daniel on the Junius Brutus(Captian Ivers' boat)he has to get to New York to give his fathers soldiers notes to Mr. Johnson so he can but his family free. The problem is he is a fugitive slave and doesn't know if the notes are worth anything. This book is probably the best book I have ever read. It is a good book because Daniel is clever enough to even get the notes. The book just wows me so much I can't explain it! I hope that James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier keep writing amazing books like Jump Ship to Freedom.

I didn't really want to read this book, but when I did, I enjoyed the fast paced action and the historical setting. I also liked that it was written in the first person. I am a teacher and I plan to read the book with my students.

The book was very good. It would have been better if I would have been about 2 years older though. Other thatn that the book was well written and I enjoyed it anyway. I would recommend it to any one 14 or older though.

Due to the use of the word "nigger," James and Christopher Collier's renowned book, Jump Ship To Freedom has been banned from both public and private school libraries with such regularity that the American Library Association recently included it in its current 100 Most Frequently Censored Books List. While it is fitting and altogether proper that schools have the ability to censor books that are not age appropriate or are downright unsuitable for its students, any institution that forbids young adults from getting their hands on this accurate account of a triumphant runaway slave are off the intellectual mark To all but the obtuse reader, this is a worldly story that puts a face on the horrid institution of slavery while, at the same time, familiarizes its readers with the derisive shadow it cast upon the founding of our nation.
Based on historically accurate events and characters, this is the story of fourteen-year-old Daniel Arabus and his mother who are slaves owned by Captain Ivers of Staford, Connecticut in the mid 1780's. They had always dreamed of buying their freedom, and when Daniel finds out that his deceased fathers valuable Revolutionary War notes (Which he had earned while fighting for General George Washington) have been stolen by his master, he gets the idea to steal them back and to sell them at a later opportunity. In short order, Ivers discovers the theft, suspects Daniel, and fixes to sell him off while on the upcoming expedition to the to the dreadfully notorious West Indies sugar cane fields.
As fate would have it, Daniel was ironically saved by a deathly storm that wrecked such damage to his captain's ship that it was forced to seek repair in New York City. Once in harbor, the spry Daniel cunningly set off a chain of events that made for his "jumping ship to freedom." Meeting a seemingly endless list of epic characters from the post Revolutionary era, Daniel ends up playing a central role in relaying an important deathbed message over issues surrounding the institution of slavery to the Founding Fathers who were writing the Constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For his feat, he perceivers and frees both himself and his mother from bondage.
In one sense, Jump Ship To Freedom is valuable in that it compellingly portrays an accurate account of some of our nation's most noted Founding Fathers, the era's culture, and the issues that gave birth to what would become the United States of America. In a larger sense, it puts a face on the many thousands of slaves who toiled under the master's lash for some two hundred and forty six years. In an appropriate and altogether fitting sense, the Colliers carefully employ the word "nigger" to maintain the book's historical accuracy. It was a word used with regularity as the nineteenth century ran its course. In addition to its accuracy, the word's usage paints an ominous account of how Daniel came to reject self-doubts he subscribed to as a "lowly nigger" and the new self-respecting worldview--firmly grounded in his own worth-which he came to take on as a human being. This transition, which was born from his journey, is striking.
And so, in addition to familiarizing adolescent readers with the coming into existence of the United States, this is the story of a courageous slave that refused to be broken while being held in bondage. Those hoping to inspire children, while at the same time exposing them to an integral part in the American pageant, should keep their fingers in the dike that holds back the current flood of individuals who are trying to keep this book out of children's midst. Simply put, it is an uncommonly valuable book for adolescent readers that must be kept on the shelf.

I am reading this book with my sixth grade class. Many of my classmates are enjoying this book so far. I think it is very interesting and it teaches us about what it was like to be a slave, and also about the Revolution. Daniel's (a character)father died by trying to escape by jumping in the water. He misses his father and tries to get his freedom back in memory of his father. Have fun reading! ^_^

At thirteen Daniel has the time of his life in Jump Ship to Freedom. He is faced with many decisions and many encounters. For example, he steals some of his belongings back from his owners so he can set him and his mom free. If you didn't get this already he is a slave, and if he is caught there consciences. He also jumps of a ship so he can swim to a near by dock New York. In hope to free his mother and him self with his fathers soldiers notes, because Daniel's father had drown at sea when Daniel was really little. While doing this what he didn't know was his master had docked and was looking for him. So, as you can see Daniel has a crisis on his hands.

Boom! The water sounded as it crashed up against the boat. Splash! Was the sound made when Birdseye, Daniels best friend, fell into the water and drowned. These were some of the things that I could reflect on and think about as I sat upon my bed or in one of my classes. Jump Ship to Freedom is what I would call a four-star book. There was so much action and excitement! I just loved it. This book was written by James Lincoln and Christopher Collier. A company known as Collier& Collier.

The genre of this book is historical fiction. It is about a 14 year old boy slave named Daniel who stole his dead fathers soldiers notes back from his master. He is going to be sold in the West Indies for doing so. His master takes him on a ship to sell him but they encounter many problems and end up going to New York. Daniel runs away from his master and meets two of his fathers friends who decide to take him to Philadelphia with them. One of the men dies and Daniel ends up going to Philadelphia alone to keep a promise that he made to a now dead man. This is just a summary of a great book that I think everyone should read.

The main character of the book was Daniel. He reminds me of my mom because he keeps promises, knows what he has to do, and is brave. I could really understand how Daniel feels because of how alike my mother and he are. I learned from this book that to get where you want to go there will always be a struggle.

In this book I could see everything so clearly, I felt like I was there standing over everyone and everything. Watching and listening like some kind of U.S.A. spy. I liked everything about this book! I could feel Daniels pain when his master slapped him on his face and his sadness when Mr. Fatherscreft died on their long trip to Philadelphia. Reading this book was great! I enjoyed reading the way that the characters talked and being able to know exactly how and what Daniel thought and felt about what was happening to him at the young age of 14. I liked meeting and encountering many different people and personalities. I have never read a book that I have felt so alive and there in other than this one.