[.ca] Slaves Who Dared: The Stories of Ten African-American Heroes (ISBN 1572492724)

Slaves Who Dared:
Although this book is intended for a 9-12 reading level, I have found it to be appropriate for my 11th grade "at-risk" United States History students. The stories grab the attention of the students and keep them engaged in the narratives. This is a great book and I am delighted to have found it to use as a resource in my classroom. When students have completed their assignments, they often pick it up and read it voluntarily, which is a great compliment, given the student population.

Inspirational and Educational Black History Review:
My daughter was doing a project on Harriet Tubman, and found this book on other slaves who had a major impact in African-American history. It's chapter by chapter format allows brief biographical introductions to key individuals with photographs (some graphic), and really was instructive to my 10 year old on the contribution of these heros to advancing African Americans rights. I highly recommend it for 10-14 year olds researching black history or anyone wanting inspiration from the stories of individuals overcoming significant barriers to achieve greatness.

Book Effective in Middle School Classroom:
I used Slaves Who Dared with a classroom of sixth grade students and found it to be most effective. The students were fascinated by direct quotes from people from that era as well the details of their misfortunes. The text captured their interest immediately. They remarked positively about the illustrations, photographs, captions, and sidebars with definitions and interesting details. Most important, though, they learned about historical figures previously unknown to them, and they demonstrated a desire to know more about the subjects presented in the book. This book would be an excellent introduction and springboard to a social studies unit on this period of history.

A Must Read:
As an educator, I found Slaves Who Dared to be well written for the intended reading level, but it will hold the interest of the adult reader. This account of ten African-American historical figures does not soft pedal the cruelties and horrors of slavery. Your children and students will be astounded by the lengths to which these individuals persisted in their struggle toward freedom. Adult readers will also find much to encourage them in reshaping their paradigm of America's ugliest experience and those who lived through it. A must read for the adolescent learner.