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Little Freddy didn't know
when he was born, but he knew where: he came
into the world in a cabin in Tuckahoe, Maryland, and he
lived there with his Grandma.
He did for awhile, anyhow,
until the day Grandma sadly told Freddy that he had to leave
the cabin because he was a slave and Old Master needed him
at "the Great House Farm." Freddy didn't exactly know what a
slave was, but he quickly learned that being one meant lots
of work and he absolutely had no say-so about it.
The only reason for that,
as far as he could tell, was that his skin was dark and
Master's son, Daniel, was fair-skinned. This also meant that
Daniel had a nice bed with blankets, while Freddy had
nothing like that at all. Daniel also had schoolbooks, but
when Freddy asked to learn to read and write, he was told
that it was "Unlawful" and "Unsafe."
Maybe he shouldn't have
asked: his questioning got him sent to Baltimore, where he
was supposed to take care of a boy named Thomas. Once there,
Freddy got a better bed and just a little education, thanks
to Thomas's mother – but then Thomas's father became very
angry when he learned that his wife taught Freddy some
words! Thomas's father knew that if Freddy could read, he
might try to reach for freedom.
It was right then
that Freddy knew how reading "could loosen the chains of
bondage." It was then that he knew he had to make a plan.
"That moment" made him figure out a way...
No doubt about it: your
child loves books. Most kids do; they love the pictures, the
words, and the goodness of snuggling up with a new story.
Bread for Words is one they'll
love to share.
You'll have plenty to
discuss with your little book-fan, too, once you've read
this tale together. Author Shana Keller uses a
small-but-momentous chain of events to introduce children to
the life and work of Frederick Douglass, and it's all told
quite minimally, staring with small slices of plantation
life and ending with Douglass' search for learning. This
brevity makes the story more powerful in its lack. Hint:
don't bother with the afterword; it mostly just repeats the
body of the book, but do read the author's notes.
Properly introduced and explained in a kid-friendly way,
they could send kids running for more information.
While illustrations by
Kayla Stark could be fun for small children, this book is
really more for early grade-schoolers who enjoy biographies
and history. Introduce Bread for Words to your
six-to-10-year-old, and she’ll be eager to bite into it.
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