Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History

Written by Walter Dean Myers

Narrated by Corey Allen

Frederick Douglass was a self-educated slave in the South who grew up to become an icon. He was a leader of the abolitionist movement, a celebrated writer, an esteemed speaker, and a social reformer, proving that, as he said, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." The story of one of America's most revered figures is brought to life by the text of award-winning author Walter Dean Myers and the sweeping, lush illustrations of artist Floyd Cooper.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781980049081

Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers was the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award; a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; and an inaugural NYC Literary Honoree. Myers received every single major award in the field of children's literature. He was the author of two Newbery Honor Books and six Coretta Scott King Awardees. He was the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, a three-time National Book Award Finalist, as well as the first-ever recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Reviews for Frederick Douglass

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The late author, a five-time Coretta Scott King Award winner, begins this book by explaining:“This is the story of how one man’s careful decisions and many accomplishments not only made his own life better but in many ways changed the history of America.”Douglass was born into slavery in 1818. He watched how the white children lived where he was a slave, and he wanted to have the same opportunities they did to build a good life for himself. His owner would not let his wife teach Frederick to read along with the other children because “[t]eaching a slave to read will make him unfit to be a slave.” So Frederick reasoned that learning to read is what he must do to change his life. And he set out to do so however and whenever he could.The book outlines his eventual escape from slavery at age 20, his work for both abolition of slavery and for women’s rights, the writing of his autobiography in 1845, and his decision not to join John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. The actions he took both during and after the Civil War are also briefly covered.At the end of the book, there is a timeline and small bibliography. Illustrator Floyd Cooper has won multiple awards for his artwork. He uses a technique he calls “a subtractive process” by painting an illustration board with oil paint, and then applying an eraser to the paintings. The result lends warmth and texture to his pictures.Evaluation: Myers chose an unusual selection of facts to highlight about Douglass’s life. I have to admit I prefer the children’s book on Douglass by Doreen Rappaport (my review is here). But the two books don’t overlap that much, and so could definitely be used not only to complement one another, but more importantly to demonstrate how histories by different authors paint different pictures of their subjects.

[melodyreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written; kids can understand this story.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this moving picture-book biography of an American icon, two-time Newbery Honor winning author Walter Dean Myers spins an engrossing and ultimately uplifting tale of a courageous and thoughtful man whose personal actions greatly affected the course of history. Born a slave in 1818, Frederick Douglass, or Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, as he was known as a young person, grew to maturity in Maryland, where he slowly became aware of the importance of reading, as a means of liberating himself. Teaching himself to read in secret, because learning was forbidden to slaves, he eventually escaped to the North in 1838. Once there, he settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and became involved in the Abolitionist Movement. Speaking publicly, publishing his memoir, involving himself in political debate, Douglass used words to help write the history of his country, and of the world...Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History is an engaging, educational, and deeply engrossing new examination of a famous figure from American and world history, one which explores its subject, appropriately enough, through the lens of reading, writing and the use of words in general. The narrative is structured in such a way that the reader comes away with both an appreciation for the course of Douglass' life, and a sense of how he fits into the larger course of American history. The artwork by Floyd Cooper, who has won a Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations, is gorgeous, capturing in sepia-toned oil paintings the various important scenes from Douglass' life. The afterword includes a timeline of Douglass' life, a bibliography, and the text of the manumission letter that set him free. Recommended to anyone looking for new picture-book biographies, or books about Frederick Douglass, slavery, and/or Abolitionists.