[.ca] Middle Passage (ISBN 0803718047)

Too Scary for Kids:
This is a book that is too dark and scary for children. The book contains black and white illustrations of violent and frightening scenes. One implies slave rape. Another shows rats eating the corpses of dead Africans. One quote from the introduction states, "many \oAfricans\c... chose suicide--mainly by jumping into the shark-infested ocean," As someone who has a Masters degree in early American history, I think discussing this subject is vital to the American dialogue. However, the style of this book is not fit for a child. I would rank this book without a star if Amazon's rating system would allow me to do so.

The pictures tell more than the classroom:
This book... I didn't know it was a childs book. I bought it for me. I saw the beautiful black and white pictures... and the story they were telling and knew I needed this book. A very strong story told with few words. Get the book.

The Power is Speechless:
This book brings out soo many emotions. Words need not be said..... just look..... A story that is told so very vividly... the pictures soo strong... the pain soo clear. I didn't realize it was a children's book, I got it because of the power in the pictures.

FEELINGS COME ALIVE:
This book evokes many feelings although there are no written words in the story. The feelings portrayed in the book vividly are anger, shame, sympathy, and compassion to name a few. I believe students would have feelings arosed in them. I highly suggest people from young adult through adults read this book.

Artistically Truthful:
While teaching the 6 traits of writing to middle school students, I was given The Middle Passage to use as an example of a book with strong voice. The book completely awed me with its dark, powerful images. Page after page, the illustrations evoke incredibly strong emotional reactions in the reader despite the absence of words. While the story is certainly worth sharing and keeping alive, the black and white drawings are graphic enough that I decided to save the book for a time when I could provide students with more background information to prepare them for the harsh realities depicted. This is a book that I will keep in my collection because of its artistic power, historical accuracy, and vivid impact.