Uprooted from their homes and torn away from their families, the men in
the hull of the Amistad are chained together. At home, Sengbe was a
father and a husband. But now, to those who have captured him and taken
him from Africa, he is just a slave. Sengbe manages to free himself and
the others on board. They gain control of the ship-but will they be able
to take control of their destiny? This is a true story on a sensitive
topic written especially for younger readers and skillfully told by
four-time Parents Choice Award winning author Barry Louis Polisar.
"Polisar has told the story of the Amistad slave rebellion, giving it a
personal face and tackling his subject with compassion and
understanding. He deftly explores a difficult subject in an illuminating
and positive way, conveying what it is like to be unable to speak
freely. Polisar subtly shows how speech can be a tool in the service of
justice; when Sengbe and his fellow captives are unable to speak, that
injustice comes across in the story just as strongly as the physical
chains that bind them. This is an engaging children's story and one that
deserves to be told as skillfully as Polisar tells it."- Susan Vaillant,
Library Information Specialist