This story of Thomas Jefferson's children by one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, tells a darker piece of America's history from an often unseen perspective-that of three of Jefferson's slaves-including two of his own children. As each child grows up and tells his story, the contradiction between slavery and freedom becomes starker, calliing into question the real meaning of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This poignant story sheds light on what life was like as one of Jefferson's invisible offspring.
This story of Thomas Jefferson's children by one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, tells a darker piece of America's history from an often unseen perspective-that of three of Jefferson's slaves-including two of his own children. As each child grows up and tells his story, the contradiction between slavery and freedom becomes starker, calliing into question the real meaning of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This poignant story sheds light on what life was like as one of Jefferson's invisible offspring.
Available formats-
- OverDrive Read
- EPUB eBook
- PDF eBook
Edition-
Subjects-
Languages:-
Copies-
-
Available:0
-
Library copies:0
Levels-
-
ATOS:3.0
-
Lexile:600
-
Interest Level:MG+
-
Text Difficulty:K - 2
Awards-
- Notable Children's Books
Association for Library Service to Children
Excerpts-
-
From the book
When you're free, you're free.
"Nobody will ever whip you. Nobody will ever catch you," Mama said soothingly. "When you're free, you'll be just that—free. Not escaped. Free."
"Why won't anybody catch us? The white man that caught James Hubbard, he wasn't from around here. He got paid too, for catching him."
"Nobody will be looking for you," Mama said. "You have to be reported as missing for slave catchers to know to look for you. And you won't be. Your father will let you go. He'll stay quiet. No one will capture you."
"We're supposed to trust Master Jefferson?" Maddy said. Mama nodded. Maddy thought of James Hubbard. He said, "What if Master Jefferson changes his mind?"
"He won't," Mama said. She looked at Maddy for a while and then she said, "You don't have to trust him. All you have to do is trust me."
Maddy nodded. That, he could do.
OTHER BOOKS YOU MAY ENJOY
Amos Fortune, Free Man Elizabeth Yates
The Apothecary Maile Meloy
The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had Kristin Levine
A Diamond in the Desert Kathryn Fitzmaurice
The Liberation of Gabriel King K. L. Going
The Lions of Little Rock Kristin Levine
A Long Way from Chicago Richard Peck
My Side of the Mountain Jean Craighead George
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach Brenda Woods
To Be a Slave Julius Lester
The War That Saved My Life Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
A Year Down Yonder Richard Peck
Table of Contents
When You're Free, You're Free
Other Books You May Enjoy
Title Page
Dedication
Copyright Page
Spring 1805
Chapter One - The Violin
Chapter Two - Papa
Chapter Three - Run
Autumn 1805
Chapter Four - James Hubbard's Back
Winter 1805
Chapter Five - Great-grandma and the Sea Captain
Christmas 1805
Chapter Six - Home for Christmas
Summer 1806
Chapter Seven - Joe Fossett
Christmas 1806
Chapter Eight - Hidden in Plain Sight
1807
Chapter Nine - The Lines on the Hearth
Summer 1808
Chapter Ten - A Carpenter's Apprentice
Summer 1809
Chapter Eleven - Home to Stay
Chapter Twelve - The End of Tranquility
Chapter Thirteen - Nothing
Three Years Later, Summer 1812
Chapter Fourteen - Maddy Learns
Chapter Fifteen - Miss Sally's Son
Chapter Sixteen - Miss Ellen
Chapter Seventeen - The Mockingbird
Chapter Eighteen - They All Play the Violin
Chapter Nineteen - James Hubbard Flogged Again
January 1813
Chapter Twenty - Maddy on His Own
1813 into 1814
Chapter Twenty-one - A Landau, Septimia, and a Funny Sort of Sweet Potato
Spring 1814
Chapter Twenty-two - Money Musk
Autumn 1814
Chapter Twenty-three - Field-Hand Socks
1815
Chapter Twenty-four - Peter Fossett
Summer 1815
Chapter Twenty-five - The Declaration
1816
Chapter Twenty-six - Master Jefferson Sells James
Spring and Summer 1816
Chapter Twenty-seven - Moving On
Autumn 1816
Chapter Twenty-eight - Poplar Forest
December 1818
Chapter Twenty-nine - Three Months of Grief
Spring 1819
Chapter Thirty - Beverly's Twenty-first Birthday
Summer 1819
Chapter Thirty-one -...
Reviews-
-
Starred review from July 15, 2011
It was a secret everybody knew at Monticello: Thomas Jefferson was the father of Beverly, Harriet, Madison and Eston Hemings, and their mother was Sally Hemings, a slave owned by Jefferson.
Most people now have a vague idea of this story and the issues it raises about Jefferson, the author of the words that founded a nation: "All men are created equal." Bradley offers the first fully realized novel for young readers and tells it from the points of view of Beverly, Madison and another enslaved boy on the plantation. The characters spring to life, and readers will be right there with Beverly when his mother scolds him for referring to Master Jefferson as "Papa." Readers may wonder why, when three-quarters through the novel, the point of view shifts from Beverly and Madison to Peter Fossett, a slave but not one of Jefferson's sons. But this additional perspective becomes crucial to the wrenching conclusion of this fascinating story of an American family that represents so many of the contradictions of our history. The afterword is as fascinating as the novel, telling what later happened to each of the characters, and a small but excellent bibliography will lead readers to books and websites for further study.
A big, serious work of historical investigation and imagination; the tale has never before been told this well. (Historical fiction. 9-14)
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
-
Starred review from October 1, 2011
Gr 6-9-This well-researched fictional look at the lives of the sons of Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings echoes with the horrors of slavery and the contradictions within the author of the Declaration of Independence and an admired champion of liberty. Bradley depicts Sally Hemings as a determined woman who accepts her role as a slave and secret lover of the president while she focuses on the promised freedom for her children. The story is told mainly by her three sons, Beverly, Madison, and Eston. Hemings never allows her children to forget that they are slaves while they live at Monticello and makes sure that they are aware of slavery's repulsiveness, despite their somewhat special status. She plans to have her light-skinned son Beverly and daughter Harriet go out in the world and "pass" as white people, but this will require that they never acknowledge her or their darker family members again. Eventually financial difficulties grow, and Jefferson is forced to sell many possessions, including 130 slaves. Maddy and Eston are given their freedom at the age of 21, but Sally Hemings was never set free. Bradley's fine characterization and cinematic prose breathe life into this tragic story.-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-
September 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 Don't you ever call him Papa. This gripping novel captures the viewpoints of the young children President Thomas Jefferson fathered with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. Growing up in a cabin at Monticello, the children are told not to mention their father. The president is kind to Sally's oldest son, Beverly, and encourages him to play the violin. Jefferson promises the children they will be freed at 21. Beverly and his sister, Harriet, look white. Could they pass? But what about their brother, Maddy, who is dark-skinned? Could they leave him behind? The detailed history may overwhelm some readers. But told from the children's naive viewpoints, first Beverly's, then Maddy's, then that of little Peter, another young slave who is beloved by the Hemings family, the young innocents' elemental questions raise fundamental issues for the reader. How could founding father Jefferson sell off Maddy's best friend? What does it mean, all people are created equal?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.) -
Starred review from January 1, 2012
William Beverly Hemings has no idea what to call his father. His mother, Sally Hemings, forbids him to say Papa; Monticello's slaves address him as Master Jefferson; and Mr. President is the term usually reserved for visitors. Beverly, and his brothers and sister, are slaves; they're also Thomas Jefferson's children. What's more, they're legally white. The complexity of Beverly's identity gives the novel its heft but requires some background that initially takes the spotlight away from the characters before they emerge as distinct individuals to anchor this moving human story. Granted freedom at twenty-one, light-skinned Beverly leaves Monticello with plans to pass for white. But there's more to passing than color; cultural differences complicate every aspect of his new life. "The only way to be white is to not ever have been black." The voices of the Hemings children give readers a perspective not found in history textbooks. The rights of man, for example, aren't in nineteenth-century America for the taking; and no one knows this better than the slaves of Monticello, who, through Jefferson's indifference, are cruelly beaten and casually sold. As Beverly's younger brother Maddy tries to explain to a friend, Jefferson's Declaration of Independence proclaimed the founding fathers would protect those rights. "But they didn't really do it," the boy says. "I know," replies Maddy. "But they think they did." An informative author's note completes this eye-opening and powerful novel. betty carter(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
-
January 1, 2012
William Beverly Hemings and his siblings are slaves; theyre also Thomas Jeffersons children. Granted freedom at twenty-one, light-skinned Beverly leaves Monticello with plans to pass for white. But cultural differences complicate every aspect of his new life. The voices of the Hemings children give readers a perspective not found in history textbooks. An informative authors note completes this eye-opening and powerful novel.(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
Title Information+
-
Publisher
Penguin Young Readers Group -
OverDrive Read
Release date: -
EPUB eBook
Release date: -
PDF eBook
Release date:
Digital Rights Information+
- Copyright Protection (DRM) required by the Publisher may be applied to this title to limit or prohibit printing or copying. File sharing or redistribution is prohibited. Your rights to access this material expire at the end of the lending period. Please see Important Notice about Copyrighted Materials for terms applicable to this content.
Status bar: