Freedom in Congo Square

By Carole Boston Weatherford
|Illustrated By R. Gregory Christie

Genre: Educational, African-American

Audio Library Digital

07/25/2017

14 minutes

9781520078540

Audio Retail Digital

07/25/2017

14 minutes

9781520078557

Audio CD

07/25/2017

1 Audio CD

14 minutes

9781520078526

Video Library Digital

07/25/2017

12 minutes

9781520079073R

Video Library Digital

07/25/2017

12 minutes

9781520079073

Video Retail Digital

07/25/2017

12 minutes

9781520079080

DVD

07/25/2017

1 DVD

12 minutes

9781520079066

Playaway

07/25/2017

14 minutes

9781520078571

Description:

As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when, at least for half a day, they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. There, they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. This poetic, nonfiction story about this little-known piece of African American history chronicles the daily duties of such slaves-from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday-and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square, capturing humanity's capacity to find hope and joy even in the most difficult of circumstances and demonstrating how New Orleans' Congo Square was truly freedom's heart.

Release Date: 01/05/2016
Classification: CH Nonfiction
Series: N/A
Genre: Educational, African-American
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Duration: 14 minutes
Run Time: 14 minutes
Language: English
Language: English
Audio Library Digital - 9781520078540
Audio Retail Digital - 9781520078557
1 Audio CD - 9781520078526
Video Library Digital - 9781520079073R
Video Library Digital - 9781520079073
Video Retail Digital - 9781520079080
1 DVD - 9781520079066
0 Playaway - 9781520078571

Quotes:

Starred Review. Transcendent and inspiring, the program communicates an important facet of African American culture with panache and is a perfect pairing with the award-winning book. Ideal for school and public library settings., School Library Journal

...Unique in its subject and artistic expression, this beautiful book belongs in most collections., School Library Journal

In rhyming couplets, Weatherford vividly describes each day of nonstop work under a 'dreaded lash' until Sunday, when slaves and free blacks could assemble in Congo Square...The poetry is powerful and evocative, providing a strong and emotional window into the world of the slave. Christie's full-bleed paintings are a moving accompaniment...Weatherford and Christie dazzlingly salute African-Americans' drive to preserve their dignity and pride., Kirkus

Narrator Bahni Turpin's spry voice and energetic tone add enthusiasm and a sense of movement to Beaty's phrasing. This audiobook tells a vivid story of a budding young scientist and her experiments. Turpin's voices for Ada and the other characters help to round out the world created in this brief but enjoyable listen., AudioFile Magazine

History meets art in this musical and poetic account of a week in the life of an enslaved African in nineteenth-century New Orleans. Narrator JD Jackson's baritone is the perfect instrument to deliver the rhyming couplets that describe each weekday of plantation life., AudioFile Magazine

Related Titles:

Browse all children's videos