Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty

by Tonya Bolden

Published on the anniversary of when President Abraham Lincoln's order went into effect, this book offers readers a unique look at the events that led to the Emancipation Proclamation. Filled with little-known facts and fascinating details, it includes excerpts from historical sources, archival images, and new research that debunks myths about the Emancipation Proclamation and its causes. Complete with a timeline, glossary, and bibliography, "Emancipation Proclamation" is an engrossing new historical resource from award-winning children's book author Tonya Bolden.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, American History, African American, Civil War, Middle Grade, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Author and publisher Tonya Wilyce Bolden was born on March 1, 1959, in New York City to Georgia Bolden, a homemaker, and Willie Bolden, a garment center shipping manager. Bolden grew up in Harlem in a musical family and loved to read; she attended Public M.E.S. 146, an elementary school in Manhattan, and then graduated from the Chapin School, a private secondary school, in Manhattan in 1976. Bolden attended Princeton University in New Jersey, and, in 1981, obtained her B.A. degree in Slavic languages and literature with a Russian focus. Bolden was also a University Scholar and received the Nicholas Bachko, Jr. Scholarship Prize.

Upon graduating from Princeton University, Bolden began working as a salesperson for Charles Alan, Incorporated, a dress manufacturer, while working towards her M.A. degree at Columbia University. In 1985, Bolden earned her degree in Slavic languages and literature, as well as a Certificate for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union from the Harriman Institute; after this she began working as an office coordinator for Raoulfilm, Inc., assisting in the research and development of various film and literary products. Bolden worked as an English instructor at Malcolm-King College and New Rochelle School of New Resources while serving as newsletter editor of the HARKline, a homeless shelter newsletter.

In 1990, Bolden wrote her first book, The Family Heirloom Cookbook. In 1992, Bolden co-authored a children’s book entitled Mama, I Want To Sing along with Vy Higginsen, based on Higginsen’s musical. Bolden continued publishing throughout the 1990s, releasing Starting a Business from your Home, Mail-Order and Direct Response, The Book of African-American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters, And Not Afraid to Dare: The Stories of Ten African-American Women, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm and The Champ. Bolden became editor of the Quarterly Black Review of Books in 1994, and served as an editor for 33 Things Every Girl Should Know, in 1998. Bolden’s writing career became even more prolific in the following decade; a partial list of her works include:, Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists, Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl, MLK: Journey of a King, Take-Off: American All-Girl Bands During World War II, and George Washington Carver, a book she authored in conjunction with an exhibit about the famous African American inventor created by The Field Museum in Chicago.

(source; http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biogr...)

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was put off by Bolden's attempt to be inclusive and "you are there" approach by using the first person plural for Part one (of three) in this book.

"As we waited for all of America to repent - to repudiate - we wept, we raged, we prayed."

Well, no, I didn't. I wasn't there for starters, while everyone else was, waiting for the Emancipation Proclamation to be signed and released.

This came across as overwrought. It came off as likely biased, even if I didn't necessarily disagree with the theme of the text. Parts 2 and 3 were a bit better but by then I wasn't too sure I cared. She basically wanted to do a photoessay, I'm guessing, but didn't have Russell Freedman's superb sense of how to balance text and photos. She explained things that really didn't need explaining, such as lines of the 13th amendment.

She made one interesting point: that Lincoln felt that the Constitution didn't allow him to take away property (slaves) without compensation. That explained some of Lincoln's delay in freeing the slaves since he couldn't get other governing entities such as the states to agree to pay the owners for their slaves. The opposition was on two opposing grounds: rage that the evildoers would get paid for doing the right thing and a reluctance on the states' part to pay out. She also emphasized how strongly Lincoln believed in the idea of sending the blacks elsewhere because there wouldn't be peace with both races living together. She also made the point, which wasn't new to me, that Lincoln regarded freeing the slaves as a military tactic. He said his goal was to win the war, and if he could do it without freeing the slaves, that would have been fine. He distinguished between his personal feelings against slavery as opposed to what his responsibilities as commander in chief required him to do.

The problem is, that I read a huge book, without gaining much new information. I understand that a lot of this will be new for the grades it was meant for, assuming that they had never heard of the civil war at all, or that African Americans had been slaves at one time. But too many of the very basic points were emphasized over and over with not enough time spent on the subtlety of what was happening at the time.

Not recommended.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always a pleasure to read a history a book by Tonya Bolden because her fascination and passion for her subjects are so evident. Using a personal voice that infuses her narrative with vividness and dramatic urgency, Bolden creates a compelling overview of the lead-up to the Proclamation. She makes excellent use of primary sources and visual materials. A richly illustrated, handsomely designed work.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a factual account of the journey of the Emancipation Proclamation, read this. Bolden tells the true story of the proclamation and Lincoln without painting him as a saint. You will learn more from this book than you learned from history class in school.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like I was watching a good movie, couldn't put the book down. Interestingly, this long-form informational book took me about as long to read as to watch a movie.

Bolden's first-person telling from the black we point of view added a sense of urgency. I enjoyed her decision to problematize Lincoln, presenting him in the context of a. constant pressure by abolitionists and b. seceded states' failure to concede anything in negotiation (sounds familiar given today's congress). It was great to see all the context coming together to make emancipation look to Lincoln more and more like the inevitable conclusion. Arguably it is easier to complicate Lincoln without polarizing people, because he wasn't a slave owner like Jefferson or Washington. It's easier to write him as a conflicted character without villainizing. By contrast, it was this complexity in characterization I felt was missing from Fitzgerald's Children of the Tipi: Life in the Buffalo Days, which I reviewed yesterday.

Bolden's often poetic narrator voice carries the disappointment and eagerness she might have felt inside the movement at the time. She makes no apologies for assuming a personal point of view with a power-based agenda, her quilt frame for patching together all the sources and facts. She presents in quotation the brilliant logic of thinkers like Frederick Douglass who could see the road forward, while not faulting Lincoln for being deliberate and slow and ultimately wrong. (Changing his stance--hmm, don't we call that 'flip-flopping' now?). Many of the quotations she selected sound like they could have been written yesterday. This is probably because so many of them were taken from speeches, and maybe spoken language hasn't changed all that much since the 1800s?

In the end matter a thorough timeline, complete quote sources, and a full two-column page of bibliography all recommend Bolden's careful historical work and the publisher's confidence in this as a book worth spending end paper on (it's an obvious try at an award by Abrams). Also, the entire text is shot through with photos of primary source documents in addition to the engravings and photos. Maria T. Middleton gets a design credit in the front matter. High quality paper, expensive color process, and a fine dust cover all point to a book with a great budget.

[Brandi M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Twin Text: Sugar, Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes, Copyright: 2013

2. Rationale: “Emancipation Proclamation” describes the struggles that African Americans endured during the time of slavery. Abraham Lincoln felt that men should be equal and worked towards this end. He signed the Emancipation Proclamation which abolished slavery. The story of “Sugar” is about a ten-year-old girl who works on a sugar plantation. The time of this story is set after the emancipation of slaves. This book tells Sugar’s story of what life was like during that difficult time as Chinese workers began to work on the plantation. Sugar needs to find a way for them all to work together.

3. Structure & Strategy Application: This text is descriptive in nature as it tells the story of slaves, their struggle for freedom, gives facts about the constitution, and emancipation. This text is also arranged in chronological order telling the story in sequence. There is a timeline towards the end that lists all important dates found in the text.

A strategy application for this text is webbing. Students could write the term slavery or emancipation in the center of the web and branch out from there. The next level of the web could include struggles, important events, and even the fight for civil rights. Students could then add branches to create connections to each of these topics and show their thinking.

4. (2013, October 1). School Library Journal. http://www.booksinprint.com.leo.lib.u...#

[Julie Feldman]

Fiction Twin Text: Henry's Freedom Box, Ellen Levine, 2008

Rationale: In the non-fiction text, Emancipation Proclamation, readers learn of President Lincoln's purpose for the document and the struggle of black people and their fight for freedom. In the story Henry's Freedom Box, readers can relate the struggles of the black people, detailed in the non-fiction text to Henry a slave who got freedom through the underground railroad.

Text Structure: Descriptive, Chronological

Strategy Application: K(now)W(ant to learn)L(earned) After reading Henry's Freedom Box, students would share their background information and information they gathered from the first read aloud. The teacher would record this information in the K section of the chart. The teacher and class would then engage in a discussion on what questions the class still had about slavery. After recording the questions the class would extend their thinking as they read all or parts of Emancipation Proclamation. The class would then again discuss the facts they learned and finish recording their responses in the appropriate section of the KWL chart.

Review Citation: (2013, July 11). Horn Book Magazine. http://www.booksinprint.com.leo.lib.u...#

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully designed, brimming with photographs of paintings, lithographs, political cartoons, tracts, as well as photographs of actual documents. The narrative is sometimes written from a collective "we," which I didn't care for. Still, a must-purchased addition to middle and high school libraries.

[Children's Literature Centre at FSU · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really cool. It is full of quotes, primary sources, photographs, political cartoons, pictures, and so much more. This book even includes a timeline, a glossary, an index, and a list of sources. This book is written in language that kids can understand, but it doesn’t leave anything out. This book also has a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation in it with extra notes for clarification. This book would be great for students who love history and for teachers who are teaching the Emancipation Proclamation.
Review written by Sarah Roderick

[Kristen Boykin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This expository book is filled with information of the Emancipation Proclamation, including details about significant events that occurred up to the issuing of the document. Children are likely to be engaged in learning through this book by the pictures and 'fun facts' it has throughout its pages.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a political standpoint, how Lincoln came to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Good timelines and back matter included.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Age Range: 6th-Adult
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was a pivotal moment in history. Bolden unpacks the moment: revealing the complex interplay of events and personalities that shaped Lincoln’s thinking and strategy leading up to the proclamation that changed America forever.

This is a gorgeous book: lovingly and effectively designed. It is filled with well-reproduced large format historic prints, photographs and documents that draw the reader in. The abundance of period images, which include some remarkable political cartoons, help hold interest and allow readers to interact directly with primary sources: drawing their own conclusions and enriching the reading experience.

Bolden has done a remarkable job: reintroducing complexity and tension both to a moment in time that seems preordained and to a president we have made too saintly. The problem with simply accepting the Emancipation Proclamation is that we miss an opportunity to understand how hard won and how difficult and dangerous a decision it was. We make it dull by accepting it too easily. In assuming ‘of course Lincoln freed the slaves’ we miss both an opportunity to appreciate Lincoln’s human nature and to see how his thinking evolved and what he himself believed to be his highest duty. We rob ourselves of any real historical understanding and thus are ill equipped to understand the history being made in our own lifetimes.

Bolden provides context to understand the forces affecting the emancipation decision. We learn that in 1861 most escaped slaves were returned by Union forces to their Confederate owners. Primary sources, images and Bolden’s text, help us see how the Union moved from enforcing the 1850 Fugitive Slave law to, by 1862 passing the Confiscation Act that freed escaped and captured slaves and the Militia Act that allowed blacks to serve in the U.S. Army.

Readers are shown that the decision of states to secede or remain loyal wasn’t a binary choice. Crucial pro-union states like Maryland, which surrounds the Capital, and Kentucky and Missouri, which allow access to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, were divided in their support of the Union. Marylanders rioted and killed Union troops passing through their state. Understanding the great range of opinion and what fears and hopes drove those beliefs affords readers a far more nuanced understanding and is much more interesting. We learn that, as feared by many political leaders, the Republicans were punished at the polls in the mid-term elections following the Emancipation Proclamation. Knowing how divided opinion was both in the North and South sets readers up to understand why the Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t the end of the struggle for civil rights. As Frederick Douglas so presciently noted in 1862, “the slave having ceased to be the abject slave of a single master, his enemies will endeavor to make him the slave of society at large.”

Along the way Bolden introduces us to remarkable characters, some like Frederick Douglass are well known but others, nearly as fascinating, have been overlooked by history. Seeing the range of opinion and concern, being introduced to multiple voices from the time, helps to take the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln and Civil War History out of the box we have put it in.

The only questionable element in Emancipation Proclamation is Bolden’s decision to tell parts 1 and 3 in the third person plural. She uses the personal ‘we’: speaking from the perspective of African Americans and abolitionists. While this approach does make the narrative more immediate and personal it occasionally confuses as the reader puzzles who is actually included in the ‘we’.

In her epilogue Bolden asks big and challenging questions, which before reading her text might have seemed simple to answer. Addressing the reader in first person she briefly outlines her perspective on the Emancipation Proclamation and introduces the 13th amendment, abolishing slavery. A seven-page timeline from 1860-1865 highlights key events associated with the emancipation of slaves. A glossary defines key terms. Notes provide sources for quotes. There is a page and a half of selected sources. Unfortunately Bolden does not share her criteria for selection or annotate any of her sources. Her acknowledgements include thanks to two experts who she consulted. Helpfully image credits provide the provenance of the many remarkable images included in the text. An extensive and specific index helps readers find exactly the topic they seek.

[Chalida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this middle grade non-fiction book. Tonya Bolden chronicles the evolution of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation but unlike so much middle grade non-fiction, this is not an unbiased account. We often teach students to write expository essays without emotion, but how can you not have feelings about something. It is clear that Bolden has an argument here, clear when she uses "We" for her narration. Her epilogue explains a lot of why she reveres the EP, why she considers it the Dawn of Liberty. Bolden does what we want our students to do; she provides counter-arguments and she engages us with good writing. This is anything but dull. I learned so much. She portrays Lincoln as a human being, ever fallible and constantly reflecting, revising. He is a self-made lawyer who follows the law to a T even if potentially going against personal beliefs. He is a politician waiting for the perfect timing to say the right thing and often saying the very wrong thing in front of Congress--gradual compensated emancipation, forcing Blacks to emigrate to Central America. Bolden acknowledges all the flaws of the EP-- it was a military order designed by military necessity, only freed slaves in confederate states where Lincoln had no power and didn't free them where they did have power, but what Bolden tells us and chronicles beautifully through individuals on the night of Lincoln's signing, was that the EP was full of hope. Hope that became the impetus for many Blacks to race to the North, sign up to fight and win the war and that eventually led to the 13th Amendment. She says, "...so many who believed in freedom looked beyond the proclamation's 'whereas' and 'whereof,' the geographic particulars, the tenses and technicalities," (88). At that point Whites were fighting to preserve the Union but also for Black freedom.
The book is beautiful and includes lots of primary docs although they were often distracting for me. I wanted to get back to Bolden's writing. Some quotes that stick with me:
"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that," (64) Lincoln as politician.
"Law and the sword can and will, in the end abolish slavery. But law and the sword cannot abolish the malignant slave holding sentiment which has kept the slave system alive in this country during two centuries. Pride of race, prejudice against color, will raise this hateful clamor for oppression of the negro as heretofore. The slave having ceased to be the abject slave of a single master, his enemies will endeavor to make him the slave of society at large," (90) Frederick Douglass, 1862.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Review Quarter 2

Peter Madden
P.5

This quarter I read the book Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty by Tonya Bolden and I thought it was a hard, read. It was interesting and had lots of things to learn but it read like a textbook. This book is supposed to be informational, but not boring. I personally thought it was really good at times, but really boring in others. This book is Nonfiction and I would give it a 7/10.


The book Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty is told in a perspective where a relative of a person who lived through the time of slavery and being freed by the emancipation proclamation. There is no actual plot, but it is all 100% true. There is no stories, there is pure facts. There is also no setting, it is the truth about the 1860s and how the civil war and emancipation proclamation changed the United States of America. The major characters show through the facts of the emancipation proclamation, and the civil war are Abraham Lincoln, the president of the USA, the person who chose to pass the emancipation proclamation, Frederick Douglass, a black man who liberated himself in 1838, and William Lloyd Garrison, the founding editor of the 1830s news paper, The Liberator. There is no theme in this book, there is fact. The genre of this book is historical, nonfiction and Tonya Bolden is an African American author who also wrote the books Maritcha, Finding Family, Beautiful Moon; A Child's Prayer, ext, all the books have a theme of either black culture or black history. This book is great for emancipation proclamation primary sources like pictures and quotes.


I did like this book, it is informational and it has good primary sources or illustrations to back up the facts or give you a picture in your head of what they mean. I liked how the book told facts in the way of stories, and also it had plenty of people that in real life had roles in the civil war and the freedom of slavery, I learned a lot about people that affected the war and how they did it. The writing is sophisticated, I would say this is a high school level book, not because of the length, but because of how words are put into sentences, things may not make sense if you don’t train your mind to think in that sense. I think this book is important to read, but only if you need to know about the emancipation proclamation or the civil war.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

By upper elementary everyone knows about the Emancipation Proclamation, they know at least generally what it was and that Abraham Lincoln signed it during the Civi War. History buffs and Civil War effecionatos know a great deal more. This book enlightens everyone else of a certain age who is hooked by history, the intrigue of politics, and the unfolding of historical events. It's uses as a valuable teaching tool are wide ranging. Part 1 could be made into a terrific dramtic reading with the visuals flashed on a screen. And that's just a start. Bolden has created a museum experience to be had while sitting in your own comfortable chair. Instead of earbuds narrating, one provides it themselves by reading. You can mentally walk past all the exhibits, letters, pictures, quotations. In fact many visits can be made to this handheld museaum to savor bits at a time. The chronology of the inception of slavery, the beastiality of slavery, the resisancet to slavery, and the defense of same is well exhibited. As the exhibit moves through the Civil War years the escalation of the pro and anti slavery groups is chronicled in an aura of intrigue. If one suspends their knowledge of the outcome they can for a moment take the position of one side or the other and feel the suspense as events go tit for tat, for and against. A multi-faceted Lincoln is exposed, certainly not for the first time, but effectively for the targeted audience. It is possible and perhaps necessary to give the full orbed complexity of him as the point person at our nation's crisis moment politically and humanely. How against such forces could right prevail? How could the contitution as written by founding fathers become the reality of millions of enslaved subjects? How and why could Lincold arrive at the point he did? Important and good reading. If I were stil in the class room I would do this with the whole class, parts at a time in support of a larger lesson plan for that period of time.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful example of the amazing things being done with books for children. Everything about the book from the design to the writing is intended to help children decipher a difficult topic. Slavery is not an easy topic to discuss, nor is the war that came about because of it. But this book does a great job of showing how and why freedom came to the slaves.

I found it fascinating the way the author referred to slaves as "we." It brings a feel of unity, common suffering among African Americans both slave and free. I loved how she used quotes from prominent people of the time, both white and black. I also liked how these quotes showed a variety of opinions, those who supported Lincoln and those who didn't, those who wanted slavery ended regardless of the fate of the union and those who put the union first. The book is wonderfully written and perfect for sharing, especially in a classroom setting. There is much here worthy of discussion. I also appreciated the inclusion of the actual document (Emancipation Proclamation) and the author's taking the time to explain things as she went, helping the reader but not talking down to them. The author's epilogue explains her own feelings about the controversy that still surrounds slavery and the issue of who really freed the slaves. This is a nice touch in that it illustrates that history like so many other things varies depending on the beholder.

The design of the book is fabulous. The outside and inside of the book are made to look old, like an ink-splattered document from the past. Many illustrations were of primary source documents from the 1860s, everything from auction posters to political cartoons, photographs, paintings, as well as speeches and letters. The captions were well-written and clearly explained each illustration. A beautifully put together book that I highly recommend.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Booklist starred review nails the quality, the strengths of this book.
It would be hard for a student who does not have a sophisticated vocabulary and some background knowledge of this period to understand this book. But for your history buff - the student you are trying to challenge - hand him or her this book. Hand this book to a group for discussion - because there's a lot to think about as Bolden portrays Lincoln in a very "gray" area of freeing slaves and slaves rights and African American's place in society.
This book is complex in many ways. Bolden "frames" the book with a "we" - the abolitionists who are waiting for and have strived towards the end of slavery. The "we" is introduced in Part I and then resurfaces at various points in Part II and then is a strong part of the Part III, the final part. The vocabulary is riddled with idioms and savvy reader words. As a reader, I had to keep an eye on Bolden's thread (purpose) of "this was how Lincoln emerged/evolved and brought about the dawn of liberty." I started out just reading it as another history of current events leading up to the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, but I found myself unclear about where Bolden was headed. Once I remembered her purpose/premise for the book - Lincoln's journey towards clarity about emancipation - where she was headed was much clearer.
The primary sources in this book are STRONG. You could just read the primary sources and gain a deeper understanding of all the different variables that contributed to the complexities of the Civil War.
A good read - but for a very particular group of students.

[Stephanie Field · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book discusses events that led up to the Civil War, including parts of the Constitution that address slavery. The book also talks about Abraham Lincoln’s reasons for signing the Emancipation Proclamation and the excitement that overcame many of the slaves when it was signed; however the proclamation did not free all slaves. Lincoln’s viewpoint on slavery changed throughout his life and throughout the Civil War and this is also seen throughout the book.
Throughout the book there are excerpts of newspapers and other sources that give information on what was going on during the time period which give credibility to the accuracy of this book. The organization of the book is clear because it opens with African American’s viewpoints of what is going on in the United States and how long they have been waiting for slavery to end, and it then goes on to discuss events leading up to the Civil War and the Civil War itself, as well as the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. I liked this book because of the set up of the book including the brightness of the pages and the scrapbook look that the book had to it.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. I like how it depicted President Lincoln's evolution in his attitude and actions about the very difficult issue of slavery, as well as the mention that there is still much debate about his intentions. This is what makes history so fascinating! Historical figures were real people with real moral dilemmas that were not resolved in a vacuum. This author makes a good effort in getting this message across to young readers.
The design of the book is outstanding. Primary sources bring the past to life. Colors, fonts, artwork all work together with the text. Excellent!
My only criticism is the use of "we" throughout. The first person telling didn't seem consistent to me, I felt like the point of view bounced back and forth a bit. Not sure if this will help or hinder the understanding of young people reading this book.
Will recommend for teachers and students grades 4 to 9. And older for basic overview of topic.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty by Tonya Bolden gives the history and purpose of this document and what led to this proclamation of Lincoln's. This book is filled with quotes, pictures, maps, and documents to help explain the history of this document, the Civil War and Lincoln's position on the enslaved. The back of the book it has a timeline that is easy to follow along with a glossary and index.

I paired this book with Abe Lincoln's Dream by Lane Smith. This book is about a little girl on a tour of the White House who enters a room that even dogs won't enter, Lincoln's bedroom. She spies a sad, tall man dressed in black with a stovepipe hat, could it be? She helps him realize that he did make a difference to help make the world a better place. I picked this book for the pairing because I think it is a good introduction of what Lincoln has done for this country through a young child's eyes.

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful look at the historical build up to President Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. I find history to be very exciting but it can be difficult to get the youth excited about history especially in a book. Tonya Bolden does a great job organizing the events in this book. The events are put together like a first person narrative. I also loved the documents, pictures and the captions under the images that never seemed like random sidestep from the story that is being told. The pictures really bring history to life. I really learned some things I never knew about key figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglas and the lesser known figures John Brown & William Lloyd Garrison. I definitely recommend this history book to those looking to learn more about this period without having to do really heavy reading. The timeline in the back of the book was very helpful as well.

[Bethley Giles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bolden, T. (2013). Emancipation Proclamation : Lincoln and the dawn of liberty. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Informational

School Library Journal 2013 Best Book Nonfiction
NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book

This non-fiction book gives detailed information about the Emancipation Proclamation. The selection includes a variety of primary documents allowing readers to view a real piece of history. The book includes a helpful timeline, glossary, index and other features to help young researchers.

I liked this book, but did not think it was as interesting as it could've been. It would be incredibly useful for a lesson on the Emancipation Proclamation, Civil War, or Abraham Lincoln, especially due to the primary documents included.

[Angela Critics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most American's remember Lincoln as the heroic president who signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Bolden shows that the history behind his action is more complicated than most people appreciate. Bolden makes good use of primary materials and images to tell the story of a nation torn apart by the issue of slavery. There's nothing earth-shatteringly new here, just a more nuanced look at the controversies surrounding Lincoln's actions and reasons why emancipation was so long in coming. Unlike other reviewers, I was not bothered by the first person plural narration. In fact, I was so caught up in the story that I finished the book in one morning.

Highly recommended for students of nineteenth-century US History and anyone interested in a deeper understanding of the Civil War.

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tonya Bolden is such a fantastic writer. Her style is clear and informative and never dull. I never thought I'd find myself engrossed in a book about the Emancipation Proclamation, but I actually took it to the breakfast table with me.
Aside from the writing, every page is full of visual images, quotes from famous people, and primary source documents. A timeline at the end provides even more clarity, along with a glossary, sources cited and notes showing where originals have been corrected.
Excellent choice for our 6th grade social studies curriculum.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a big picture view of this important historical document. Readers are taken back in time through photos and excerpts so they can understand the backdrop of the time period and the different perspectives of people effected by the signing of this document.

I liked that the author didn't shy away from some the criticisms that have been aimed at this document. The reader is given the facts and explanations for how it was received, which ultimately allows them to make an informed decision for himself. Grades 5-8.

[Evan Childress · Rating 3 out of 5]

Densely packed with information and primary sources, this delve into the Emancipation Proclamation attempts to set us straight about the reasons for the proclamation and the Civil War itself.
It also provides a nice look at Lincoln's wavering opinions on the abolition of slavery. It's likely that few people know the complicated history that led up to the passage of one of the most important pieces of legislation in U.S. history.
Worth reading, but mostly older children will find this interesting.

[Kifflie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd read quite a bit previously about Lincoln's personal and political struggles with the issue of slavery, so not a whole lot of this was new to me. I did appreciate the variety of other perspectives from the President's contemporaries -- abolitionists as well as those who wanted a more cautious approach to emancipation. The photographs and other illustrations are very powerful.

Seeing the photo of Harriet Tubman at the end, especially considering the decision this week to put her image on the new $20 bill, was particularly poignant.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and the photos were excellent. It was very detailed though and I found it to be a little dry. Not sure this was the author's fault or just the subject matter. I guess I am comparing it to BOMB and HITLER YOUTH. These two are my all time favorite JNF books and I compare all others to them. This one was good and worthy of reading but was not up to the standards of my favorites.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, an informative read about a misunderstood subject. The book was filled with many fine primary resources to support the ideas presented about the topic of emancipation. The easy to read explanations for historical documents provide young readers with a way in which to grapple with the verbiage, while attempting to understand how Lincoln and the country considered how to handle the topic of slavery.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. I should have read the print version; although the narrator did a fine job, I apparently missed a slew of archival photos, letters, etc. I would have loved to view. Also, it was harder to retain the data without seeing it on the page. Nevertheless, it was very instructive about the lead-up to the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln's motivation for his actions regarding slavery. Initially I didn't even realize it was intended for middle school students!

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating use of primary sources to piece together the development of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. I found the narrative flow a bit disjointed at times, switching between a detached point of view to a "we" point of view, for those who had been waiting for the Proclamation. But the information and range of the story were excellent.