LoveReading4Kids Says
About
Oh, Freedom! Synopsis
Ten-year-old Tommy roams the cotton fields of Alabama owned by the notorious Captain Archer. Intimidating guards with fierce dogs protect the land to prevent any slaves from leaving. That is until a supernatural spirit visits Tommy offering a way out. With his banjo slung over his shoulder, Peg Leg Joe guides Tommy, his family and other slaves out of Southern USA, and into Canada through the legendary Underground Railroads. Stretched for miles across the country's vastness, the network famously facilitated more than 100,000 slaves to a new life. For Tommy and his family, the escape is far from an easy ride. The young boy is forced to mature through this testing period, and allow his strong will to guide himself and others to safety under the guidance of Peg Leg Joe. Set in the 19th century, D'Adamo's well-constructed novel tells a story distant in time, remains grounded in a reality that still exists today. Millions of people across the globe continue to be enslaved, including children.
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9781850772859 |
Publication date: |
9th June 2016 |
Author: |
Francesco D'adamo |
Publisher: |
Darf Publishers Ltd |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
138 pages |
Suitable For: |
|
Other Genres: |
|
Press Reviews
Francesco D'adamo Press Reviews
"A powerful and important story that won't fail to affect readers and set them thinking." --Books for Keeps
"This is fascinating reading, and I'm especially pleased to read about all the - mostly - anonymous help the fleeing slaves receive en route." --Bookwitch
"I particularly enjoyed the author's descriptive writing of the setting and conditions which the slaves encountered. He carefully uses the weather to enhance the feeling and sense of hope and dread of the characters." --www.thebookbag.co.uk
"Watch out for Oh, Freedom!, this gripping story about Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad, which helped slaves to freedom in the 19th century." --Nicolette Jones The Sunday Times
"The subject of American slavery is not often written about in children's books in the UK, and the story of how a song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, actually led people from Alabama to Canada is a very apposite primer in the time of Black Lives Matter." --Kitty Empire The Observer
Author
About Francesco D'adamo
Francesco was born in Milan where he lives and works. His parents were refugees from Istria, Croatia. His first novel for young people Lupo Omega, was published in 1999 and short listed for three literary prizes, his third, Iqbal, 2001, was first published in English in 2003 and received the New York Christopher Award for Adolescents and the Cento Prize in Italy. In 2004, Francesco won the International Reading Association Teachers’ Choices Booklist Prize.
More About Francesco D'adamo