My Name is Sally Little Song

by Brenda Woods

Coretta Scott King Honor-winner Brenda Woods brings to life a chapter of American history that is seldom explored. Sally Harrison and her family are slaves on a plantation in Georgia. But when Master decides to sell Sally and her brother, the family escapes to seek shelter with a tribe of Seminoles who are rumored to adopt runaway slaves. After a perilous journey, Sally and her family find the Indian village. While her father and brother easily adjust to Indian ways, Sally can’t seem to find her place—the little songs she makes up don’t fit with her new life. Will she ever let go of the past and fully join the tribe? Reviewers praised Brenda Woods’s Red Rose Box "A timeless universal tale about a young girl’s road to maturity. An impressive debut." (Kirkus Reviews.) Once again, Woods has written an evocative novel with an intriguing heroine.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, Native American, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile

182 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2006

About the author

Brenda Woods was born in Ohio, grew up in Southern California, and attended California State University, Northridge. Her award-winning books for young readers include The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond (a CCBC choice and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book); the Coretta Scott King Honor winner The Red Rose Box; the ALAN Pick Saint Louis Armstrong Beach; and VOYA Top Shelf Fiction selection Emako Blue. Woods’s numerous awards and honors include the Judy Lopez Memorial Book Award, the FOCAL International Award, and the ILA Children’s Choice Young Adult Fiction Award. She lives in the Los Angeles area.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story of fugitive slaves was different because the slaves fled south rather than north, and joined the Seminole Indians in Florida. Brenda Woods lends authenticity to the story with her southern slave speech and descriptions of daily life on the plantation and among the Seminoles. Sally and her family accept slave life as better than the dangers of running until they realize that Sally and her brother are going to be sold away. To preserve the family, they decide to flee. The account of their journey is suspenseful. But are they safe from the slave hunters, even when they are accepted and taken in by the Indians? It's hard to imagine living in fear like that. I will have to read more of Woods' books. Recommended especially for its different viewpoint on the fate of fugitive slaves.

[Jo-Ann Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think young readers will enjoy this book. It gives a more realistic portrayal of slavery without being too brutal for young readers. The characters are likable and well written. It is easy to identify and empathize with Sally.

I learned quite a bit about the Seminoles and the cultural relationships of the era. It should be both an enjoyable and educational read for kids around 12 years old. The settings are realistic and well described.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Review of the Audiobook

Book edition originally published in 2006.
Audiobook published in 2019 by Listening Library.
Read by Asmeret Ghebremichael.
Duration: 3 hours, 0 minutes.
Unabridged.

Synopsis:

This short piece of historical fiction focuses on a slave family in Georgia in the 1790s. The main character is Sally. She has a brother, a mother and a father. The one thing that this family has going for them is that their owners have a policy of not breaking apart families.

That is the policy until relatives of the owners find themselves struggling financially. In a couple of days, Sally and her brother and 3 other slaves are going to be sent to the other plantation to help it get back on its feet again.

The family decides to run away together rather than be split apart.

After some discussion with a friendly house slave who has done some traveling with the family, they decide not to head north. They haven't seen a map but they know that the trip across northern Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Maryland to get to Pennsylvania is just too far.

However, rumor has it that if they can make it to Florida (at the time, Florida was owned by Spain), they would be welcome to live with the Seminoles...

My Review:

This short book would be an excellent addition to any history classroom or school library. It has compelling characters, provides details but does not wallow in them, and is very honest about early American history from the point of view of slaves and Native Americans.

There are a variety of characters and they don't all hit the stereotypes. For example, not all of the slaves are sympathetic characters.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

Note: I reviewed this book because I read about it an article about a Florida district that banned 176 books. I checked it out and this teacher doesn't find anything objectionable about this book.

Follow this link to see my original review and to check out all of the links:
https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2023...

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

*Spoilers Ahead*

I have always found historical fiction interesting, particularly stories surrounding the history of the Holocaust and slavery. This particular story focuses on the life of Sally, an enslaved girl growing up on a plantation with her mother, father, brother, and many others who are enslaved by the Harrison family. When it's overheard that Sally and her brother, Abraham, will be sent off to the Master's brother's home, her parents make the decision that they will escape south to Seminole land.

On their journey to find the Seminoles, Sally's mother, Dessa, is attacked and killed by an alligator. TOTALLY threw me off! Two Native Americans end up finding them and taking them back to their village. It takes Sally a while to embrace her new life as a 'Black Indian', but she slowly begins growing used to her new way of life while dealing with the grief of losing her mother and not being sure who she really is anymore.

So, the reason I gave this 3.5 stars...first of all, it felt too quick to me. I understand it is geared towards a younger audience, and too much plot and details can be overwhelming. I thought the plot and details were perfect! It just seemed...rushed. A bit hard to explain, I know. I was also totally thrown off, as I mentioned before, by Dessa's death. I praise this book for showing the harsh realities that enslaved people dealt with (whippings, seeing someone else beaten, working all day without much to eat, death), but after her death is when the book just began to feel a little...eh for me. I do enjoy, however, this look at a part of history (Native Americans accepting escaped enslaved people into their tribes) that I haven't learned much about.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one I am hoping to get Lizzie to read. Really interesting to hear about a slave family who escapes to the south instead of the north, and the reasons why. I had no idea about the "black indian" tribes, or the protection offered by the Seminoles to those who escaped slavery. The author does a fantastic job of being truthful in the hard things of slavery while still being age appropriate. I also appreciated that there was the unique speech of slaves depicted in the writing but not to the point that it was difficult to read. It was a fast book to read. It feels thick in the hand, but the pages are small with wide margins, so page turning happens quickly, which can be very satisfying to a struggling reader (another plus for L.).

[Jennybeast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent story -- love the family, and I really enjoy Wood's writing. This story is particularly good at presenting slavery -- both the daily fear/terror/drudgery/anger and the close relationships that make survival possible. Beautiful family. Really love that they run to the swamp and the protection of the Seminole tribe, which is not as well known of an escape.

[Maribeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently classified as a book for juveniles, this book kept me thoroughly enthralled as I listened to the audio book. I learned that Georgia slaves in 1802 sometimes ran away to the south (Florida) to live with Indians. The reading by Asmaret Ghebremichael was top rate. A beautiful book.

[Truett · Rating 5 out of 5]

It shows how slavery isn't right and the color of your skin doesn't mean you should be treated awful. I liked it because I live in Florida and my parents went to Florida State so we cheer for their team named the Seminoles. It was great how the Seminoles were kind to runaway slaves.

[Dyane Foltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich in details, Sam loved this book.

[Anna Murdock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading this to Katie and nicole. We all liked it, it was a good historical fiction.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay. A little slow.

There's nothing bad but there is an alligator attack, people getting whipped. Not very detailed but just in case this may upset someone.

[JoHannah James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book as a kid. I would recommend it.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! I've contacted a Seminole Nation librarian to ask her take on its historical accuracy; hopefully she'll say she loves it and highly recommends it!

[Sully Bayouth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super duper good. Loved so much, totally recommend

[Gail Johnson, Ph.D · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is about a 12 year old slave and how her family escaped from slavery. It's a really good history book.

[Devyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a children's book it sure didn't hold back any punches.
I'd read this to my kids, but I don't have any. My cats seemed to have enjoyed it, though.

[Karen Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Sally and her family lives on a plantation. While Sarah and Abraham are on the verge of getting sold to a master, their parents plan to leave the plantation. One night they finally escaped but along the way they lost their mother but they had to keep on going by following the stars. They were almost caught by some coloured men but some indians saved them because they didn't have to worry about slave hunters. But in the end they weren't slaves but they weren't free but with the brave men and Pa they plan to keep everyone safe.

I picked up this book because I got tired of reading a teen book and at that time it was black history month so I wanted to read something about it. This was a perfect book to read because it was in Sally's perspective of everything, maybe things we hard but she was strong.

I finished this book because I liked the poems she wrote along the way because it's so different from other books. It was really interesting to read because it's so hard to escape a plantation and they kept on going no matter what happened.

I would strongly recommend this book to Mr. Spence or Mrs. Lewin because they care so much about Black History month and slavery so much. This book involves both so they would probably enjoy reading it from a young child's perspective.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical fiction for 5th grade. Slaves escape, but instead of going North, they go South and join a Native American tribe. *Does use the n-word a couple times.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super quick read...I finished it in about 40 minutes. Simple read with a quick history lesson. As I teach in FL, I found this perfect for sharing with my students while learning about the Seminole Indians and the slaves that escaped and fled to the South. Highly recommend!

[Meg Mirza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleven-year old slave Sally Henderson is faced with difficult choices as she and her family make a run for it, from Southern slavery into the Florida swamp. If they can make it to Seminole territory, her family may stand a better chance of remaining free. The story is very accessible to young readers, without shying away from some of the harsher realities of plantation life. Unfortunately, her mother does not survive an attack by alligators, but the remainder of her family manages to make it to relative safety. The Seminoles give Sally the name, "Little Song" for her habit of singing to herself to calm her nerves. While settling in to her new life, Sally must learn how to enjoy life again, even though her harrowing experiences will always stay with her. A unique perspective and a worthwhile read.

[Sharyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Sally's parents learn that she and her brother will be given to the master's brother-in-law in another state, the family makes plans to escape the plantation to the safety of the Florida Everglades. Sally's escape is successful, but not without costing her mother's life. As the three remaining members settle into life with a tribe of Seminoles, Sally must deal with her grief and begin to identify herself as freer than before, yet still enslaved by the racism of the antebellum South. Great character, beautiful language, but the plot was a bit too linear. I wanted a bit more from the escape and more development of characters' emotions. Curricular connections: U.S. History pre-Civil War, family, grief.

[Sheila Decosse · Rating 3 out of 5]

AS a writer myself, I love to see the way the author writes about her characters..their thoughts, feeling, are right there with the narrative. This story initially set in a slave worked cotton plantation gives a horrifying picture of the cruelty forced on the slaves and their non-entitty status. Because of a small incident, Sally is scheduled to be sent far,far away to another plantation. The whole family attempts an escape to Florida...and eventually assimilates with a Seminole group, not thinking it is the best possible world but thankful to the natives for taking them in, and there is no posible alternative for this slave family.. Tragic loss occurs and at times, the story seems a little forced, but this is a story well worth reading.

[༺Kiki༻ · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had my eye on this book for a little while. I don't have many books about Native Americans. I should have paid attention to the Coretta Scott King Award. It's about the African-American experience more than the Native American experience.

All that aside, it describes an important part of American history: the role the Seminole played in African-American history. It describes the unfairness of slavery (my students are really interested in "unfair").

I don't know who I'll recommend this to but I will be recommending it.

[Taylor Browne]

I think that the book My Name is little Sally Song is a good book to read and it really says a lot about how slaves wanted their freedom and how their familys would risk their live for everyone else .The book My Name Is Little sally song talks about a little girl named sally and her family running away to freedom after their dad finds out his kids are going to be sold with their while on their endless journey to get to find the indians.`

[Valeria Guidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meraviglioso! Letto nel lontano 2012 me lo ricordo ancora. Il punto di vista di una ragazza per far capire ai ragazzi di oggi cosa significa la tratta degli schiavi visto da una di loro. Questa è la storia di Sally, della sua famiglia e del loro lungo percorso verso la libertà per scappare da una piantagione di cotone del 1600. Non ve ne pentirete! Ricco di colpi di scena, emozioni e con un messaggio forte che DEVE essere trasmesso.

[Felicia Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it has been placed in the young readers genre. This a book that should be read by adults and young readers. It is powerful, provactive, passionate, and has all the elements of a good read. Check it out.

What I learned from this book was the racial and cultural fusion between Native American tribes and African-Americans. This book is definitely a five-star read.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woods covers the gamut of human emotions in a wide variety of experiences seen through the eyes of a young slave girl whose family escapes to live with the Seminoles. Readers will care deeply about Sally's journey. Woods masterfully says so much in few words--great choice of images.

[Roseann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little tale about a slave family who flees the plantation and goes to live with tribe of Native Americans. I had no idea that this happened, but apparently it was not uncommon for slaves to live with the Indians as "slaves" in name only.

[Kesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's official; I am a huge fan of Brenda Woods. Her style and subject matter is telling and meaningful. I learned a lot reading this novel and I love that young readers will be exposed to another outcome of slavery that the school texts never expose.