"An award-winning historian presents the remarkable true story of Cudjo Lewis, the only person alive to recount the years he spent in slavery, from being captured and held in a barracoon for sale by human traders to being enslaved until the end of the Civil War. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations."
In the first middle grade offering from Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, young readers are introduced to the remarkable and true-life story of Cudjo Lewis, one of the last survivors of the Atlantic human trade, in an adaptation of the internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed Barracoon.
This is the life story of Cudjo Lewis, as told by himself.
Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America to be enslaved, eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis was then the only person alive to tell the story of his capture and bondagefifty years after the Atlantic human trade was outlawed in the United States. Cudjo shared his firsthand account with legendary folklorist, anthropologist, and writer Zora Neale Hurston.
Adapted with care and delivered with age-appropriate historical context by award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi, Cudjos incredible story is now available for young readers and emerging scholars. With powerful illustrations by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, this poignant work is an invaluable contribution to our shared history and culture.
Recenzijas
It is [ an] important historic document that provides an intimate look at slavery in America...Belongs in every library. Booklist (starred review)
[ An] essential text. Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books (starred review)
The visual art as well as the narrative are exceptional... [ This] adaptation of Hurstons beautiful, important work is a true gift. Highly recommended for all libraries. School Library Journal (starred review)
Kendi allows Hurstons storytelling mastery to shine through for younger readers... a powerful enslavement narrative from a literary icon, deftly retold for a younger audience. Kirkus Reviews
Powerful, profound, and necessary. Horn Book Magazine
The importance of this story cant be overstated. Ron Charles, The Washington Post Book Club
Zora Neale Hurston wrote four novels (Jonahs Gourd Vine; Their Eyes Were Watching God; Moses, Man of the Mountains; and Seraph on the Suwanee) and was still working on her fifth novel, The Life of Herod the Great, when she died; three books of folklore (Mules and Men and the posthumously published Go Gator and Muddy the Water and Every Tongue Got to Confess); a work of anthropological research (Tell My Horse); an autobiography (Dust Tracks on a Road); an international bestselling ethnographic work (Barracoon); and over fifty short stories, essays, and plays. She was born in Notasulga, Alabama, grew up in Eatonville, Florida, and lived her last years in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Jazzmen Lee-Johnson is a visual artist, scholar, composer, and curator. She received her BFA in film, animation, and video at Rhode Island School of Design, her MA in public humanities at Brown University, and a heavy dose of education working with youth in Baltimore, South Africa, New York, and Providence. Jazzmen was the 2019 inaugural Artist in Residence at the Rhode Island Department of Health, the 2020 Artist Fellow at the RISD Museum, and a 2021 Fitt Artist-in-Residence at the John Nicholas Brown Center for Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University.
Ibram X. Kendi is a National Book Awardwinning and #1 New York Times bestselling author. His books include Antiracist Baby; Goodnight Racism; How to Be an Antiracist; and How to Raise an Antiracist. Kendi was the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the Director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research for five years, before leaving to become Director of the Howard University Institute for Advanced Study in 2025. In 2020, Time magazine named Kendi one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was also awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship.
