THE PRICE OF FREEDOM: HOW ONE TOWN STOOD UP TO SLAVERY
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM: HOW ONE TOWN STOOD UP TO SLAVERY
Written by: Dennis Brindell Fradin, Judith Bloom Fradin Illustrated by: Eric Velasquez
Paperback| Pages: 48
Size: 8.5 x 1 x 11 inches USD:$16.95
ISBN: 978-0802721662
Publication Date: January 8, 2013 Edition: 1st Publisher: Walker Childrens
Age: 6 - 8 years
About the Book
When John Price took a chance at freedom by crossing the frozen Ohio river from Kentucky into Ohio one January night in 1856, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was fully enforced in every state of the union. But the townspeople of Oberlin, Ohio, believed there that all people deserved to be free, so Price started a new life in town-until a crew of slave-catchers arrived and apprehended him. When the residents of Oberlin heard of his capture, many of them banded together to demand his release in a dramatic showdown that risked their own freedom. Paired for the first time, highly acclaimed authors Dennis & Judith Fradin and Pura Belpré award-winning illustrator Eric Velasquez, provide readers with an inspiring tale of how one man's journey to freedom helped spark an abolitionist movement.
★★★ THE REVIEWS ARE IN! ★★★
Gr 3-6-In 1856, John Price escaped from slavery in Kentucky by crossing the frozen Ohio River. Two years later, slave hunters arrived in Oberlin, Ohio, and attempted to take him back at gunpoint. Shopkeepers, farmers, teachers, and college students formed an armed group of Rescuers to release Price. Some members of the group were former slaves, risking their own freedom. Charged with violating the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the Rescuers spent three months in jail. They returned home with a new purpose, vowing that "No fugitive slave shall ever be taken from Oberlin either with or without a warrant, if we have power to prevent it." The picture-book format is highly effective in conveying the power of the story. In Velasquez's dramatic mixed-media and oil paintings, determination shows in the stance of the figures and the set of their facial features. The book design is masterful. The front cover highlights John Price, surrounded by some of his champions. The back cover foreshadows a betrayal, with a hand dropping a gold coin into another hand, accompanied by the sentence, "How much is one man's life worth?" On the endpapers, a dark, quiet view of the river sets the stage for the conflict to come. Full-page images and spreads draw readers directly into the action. The final image is an 1859 large-scale photo of the Rescuers taken in the courtyard of the jail. This book could be used as a nonfiction partner to Christopher Paul Curtis's Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic, 2007) and as a resource in units about slavery, the Underground Railroad, or the Civil War.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. —School Library Journal
The Oberlin-Wellington rescue—a little-known story from the annals of the American civil rights movement—finds cinematic exposition in this fast-paced, informative outing. Oberlin, Ohio, a sympathetic town resisting the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, became the home of many escaped slaves, including John Price, who arrived on the Underground Railroad from Kentucky, headed towards Canada, and settled down. When Price is kidnapped by a Kentucky slave hunter, the town rises up en masse to rescue him. Twenty men were tried, convicted, and jailed, and the conflict contributed to the unrest that led to the Civil War. The Fradins begin the story with Price’s escape and passage, moving quickly to the central event that plays out across a single day, with time stamps marking the episodic scenes. Velasquez storyboards the drama with his detailed paintings, occasionally framed with wooden panels, posing his characters to highlight the action. Back matter includes a bibliography and sources for further research, and illustrations on the front and back endpapers offer meaningful context. Grades 2-4. --Booklist
