libraryrobin's review against another edition
3.0
In this engaging story a young slave boy is able to read, and he thinks no one knows, but is called on to read a life-changing proclamation.
hsquared's review against another edition
4.0
A moving account based on actual events about a slave boy who taught himself to read, after being taught the alphabet by his father. During the Civil War, the tailor he was apprenticed to fled their home in Charleston, and Ben was sent to a slave prison. While there a fellow slave got access to a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, which Ben was able to read out loud. Sherman's stirring narrative brings to life this historical account, without any sentimentality. Floyd Cooper's soft oil illustrations portray with almost photographic quality the details of the time period. Together they bring a very personal feeling to the broad historical events of this pivotal time in American history.
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