The Brave Escape of Ellen and William Craft - (Graphic History) by Donald B Lemke (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Tells the story of Ellen and William Craft's unique escape from slavery in Georgia to freedom in Pennsylvania.

Review Quotes

These graphic novels cover African American history topics that support the CCSS, which state that college and career-ready sutents should have ample opportunities to "understand other perspectives and cultures." . . .Titles in this series are also availabe in Spanish.-- "Library Media Connection, "Connecting Comics to Curriculum""

Ellen and William Craft are slaves in Georgia who fear they will be separated by their owners. They plan a daring escape to freedom by disguising Ellen as a white man accompanied by her slave, William, and travel by train to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ellen and William are challenged along their journey but manage to evade detection and eventually make their way to freedom in Philadelphia on Christmas Day. The book is part of the "Graphic History" series in Capstone Press's "Graphic Library" of graphic-novel format nonfiction. The Crafts' story is told in full-color, classic graphic-novel form. A nice addition to the narrative are direct quotes from primary sources included in the dialogue bubbles, printed in yellow to distinguish them from quotes created by the author. The story of the Crafts would benefit from more background information in the text about slavery and life in the antebellum South to provide more context to the Crafts' story of escape. But the story itself, full-color format and comic-book treatment should appeal to young and reluctant readers. Recommended as a supplement to a broader history of the Civil War era.-- "Children's Literature Comprehensive Database"

Ellen and William Craft were slaves living in Georgia in the mid 1800s. Ellen was a seamstress and William was a cabinet maker and both of them had to work long hours for their masters, receiving little thanks for their labor. They wanted to have a family but they were afraid that if they had children, the children might be sold away from their family, something which had happened to both Ellen and William when they were younger. Ellen and William decided that their only choice was to run away, to go north to a free state where slavery was against the law. The couple knew that such a journey would be very dangerous and they came up with a plan. Ellen, being fair of skin, would dress up as a man and pretend to be William's master. So, on December 21st, 1848, Ellen disguised as a white man, and William, pretending to be Ellen's servant, set out for Pennsylvania. This gripping account of the escape of Ellen and William Craft beautifully shows readers how desperate southern black slaves became and how much they had to endure to have the freedoms that many of us take for granted today. A section at the back of the book provides readers with further information about the Crafts. With a graphic rich format and an engaging text, this is a perfect book for readers who are interested in black history.-- "Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review"

This nonfiction series for grades three through nine is unique in its format, which is more typical of the very popular graphic novels for children and teens. The easy-to-read text and vivid full-color illustrations by Phil Miller, Tod Smith, and Charles Barnett II feature appealing characters that will encourage young readers to learn about history. In these four volumes all the subjects are famous African Americans and Latinos whose adventures will appeal especially to preteen and young teenage boys. They include labor leader Chavez, the first African American to play in modern major league baseball, the great explorer of the North Pole, and a couple whose spectacular escape from slavery (and their account of it) captured the imagination of nineteenth-century abolitionists. Each volume offers a table of contents, controlled vocabulary, quotations from primary sources, short and direct sentence structure, and precise photo-text matches to aid comprehension. Also included are a glossary, a bibliography, Internet sites, and an index.-- "Multicultural Review"