Overview
From Follett
Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-196) and index.;Elizabeth Freeman -- Elizabeth Heyrick -- Ellen Craft -- Harriet Tubman -- Harriet Beecher Stowe -- Frances Anne Kemble -- Alice Seeley Harris -- Kathleen Simon -- Fredericka Martin -- Timea Nagy -- Micheline Slattery -- Hadijatou Mani -- Sheila Roseau -- Nina Smith. Tells the stories of fourteen women who have fought against human trafficking and child slavery, including Alice Seeley Harris, the British missionary whose graphic photographs of mutilated Congolese rubber slaves in 1904 galvanized a nation, and Hadijatou Mani, the Nigerian woman who successfully sued her own government in 2008 for failing to protect her from slavery.
From the Publisher
From the early days of the antislavery movement, when political action by women was frowned upon, British and American women were tireless and uncompromising campaigners for abolition; without their efforts, emancipation could have taken decades longer. As Gunn and Willen's other collaborative nonfiction title for young people, Five Thousand Years of Slavery (Tundra, 2011) demonstrates, slavery still exists in the modern world. What Speak a Word for Freedom shows is that so do indefatigable female campaigners.
Product Details
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Publisher: Tundra Books
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Publication Date:
September 8, 2015
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Format:
Hardcover
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Dewey:
326.8
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Classifications:
Collective Biography, Nonfiction
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Description:
vii, 205 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
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Tracings:
Gann, Marjorie, author.
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ISBN-10:
1-77049-651-3
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ISBN-13:
978-1-77049-651-4
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LCCN:
2014-939465
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Follett Number:
0730CVX
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Interest Level:
YA
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ATOS Book Level:
8.3
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AR Interest Level:
MG
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AR Points:
9
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AR Quiz: 176925EN
Reviews & Awards
- Booklist, 10/15/15
- Horn Book Guide, 10/01/16
- Kirkus Reviews, 07/15/15
- Publishers Weekly starred, 08/24/15
- Resource Links, 10/01/15
- School Library Connection, 04/01/16
- Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) starred, 08/01/15
Full-Text Reviews
Booklist (October 15, 2015 (Vol. 112, No. 4))
Grades 7-10. More than two dozen women who have acted to bring an end to slavery are presented here in their own words, archival images, and engaging and analytical narrative biographies. Beginning with the eighteenth century, when Elizabeth Freeman won her case for freedom on the basis of the new Massachusetts state constitution, the narrative moves to various black and white abolitionists active in America and Britain during the nineteenth century. More contemporary battles for freedom include twentieth- and twenty-first-century women working to end slavery in China, Niger, the Caribbean, and among rug makers in Afghanistan, India, and Nepal. In the varied, informative, and clearly written accounts, Willen and Gann address each woman’s personality, opportunities, and accomplishments. With the exceptions of Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe, most of the women featured will be new to most readers. The powerful message, that the fight to end slavery is ongoing and depends on a wide variety of actions and individuals, will both educate teens on this important issue and inspire them to take active roles in civic life.
Read all 4 full-text reviews …
Horn Book Guide (Fall 2016)
Considering slavery worldwide, from the eighteenth century to the present, this book features fourteen famous and little-known women who fought against it. Ellen Craft (an American slave who disguised herself as a man while traveling north in 1849), Harriet Tubman, Timea Nagy (who escaped sex slavery in 1998 Canada), and others are honored in the well-researched narrative. Bib., ind.
Kirkus Reviews (July 15, 2015)
The authors of the outstanding global history Five Thousand Years of Slavery (2011) offer an equally impressive collection of 14 profiles of women who, from the 18th century to the present, have heroically championed emancipation and an end to human bondage. The chronicle begins with the remarkable story of Elizabeth Freeman, a slave in Massachusetts who successfully sued for her freedom in 1781 on the grounds that the state constitution adopted a year earlier made slavery illegal. 19th-century profiles include abolitionists Ellen Craft, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frances Anne Kemble, and Elizabeth Heyrick, who worked at the forefront of the British anti-slavery movement. Representing the 20th century are Alice Seeley Harris, an English photographer who brought worldwide attention to slavery in the Congo Free State, and Kathleen Simon, who exposed the widespread practice of child slavery in China. Contemporary portraits include Hadijatou Mani, who successfully sued her own government of Niger in 2008 for failing to protect her from slavery, and Nina Smith, executive director of GoodWeave International, which seeks to end child slavery in the handmade rug and carpet industry. An inspiring collection of those who have fought and continue to fight against the evil of slavery and an effectively solemn reminder that slavery remains a global plague. (photos, source notes, index) (Collective biography. 12-16)
Publishers Weekly (August 24, 2015)
Readers who think of slavery as an institution relegated to the past will be enlightened by this engrossing study of female abolitionists from the 18th century to the present day. Familiar figures include Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe, but the majority of the individuals will likely be new to many readers. Among them are Ellen Craft, the daughter of a slave and a plantation owner who disguised herself as a white slave master to travel north with her black husband; missionary Alice Seeley Harris, whose photographs documented atrocities committed against Congolese rubber workers; and Micheline Slattery, who was enslaved in both Haiti and the United States and now speaks out on behalf of other victims. A powerful indictment of human rights abuses and tribute to the women who have fought them. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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