“Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History,”
by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Floyd Cooper.
Harper Collins Publishing, 2017, 32 pages, Grades 2-4.
American history is filled with people of great courage and daring. Some people fled to this country to escape religious intolerance. Many wanted a better life than their home countries would allow.
Others were forced to these shores through the evils of the slave trade. This awful practice continued in the United States until the end of the Civil War. For African Americans caught in this evil system, the choices were daunting. No one wants to be oppressed and American slaves tried their utmost to cope with and change their desperate situation.
Within this afflicted race, Frederick Douglass stands out as a giant seeking freedom for his fellow slaves. Walter Dean Myers has written an outstanding biography for primary school students on this remarkable man. The name of the book is “Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History.”
Born in Maryland in 1818, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey grew up playing with the children of the slave owner, Hugh Auld. Mrs. Auld taught her children at home and regularly read to them. She noticed that Frederick showed a keen interest in learning, and began teaching him how to read. Frederick could quickly tell that education was the ticket to many good things in life and diligently sought to read everything he could.
Mr. Auld discovered his wife was teaching Frederick to read and forbade further schooling. As a result, the child had to find old books and scraps of newspaper to continue his education. This went on for years as Frederick honed his mind and speech on whatever he could find.
He began working in a shipyard and learned how to caulk boats to stop them from leaking. There, he met free black sailors. Their stories fascinated him and drove him to make the decision to escape north. In 1838, passing himself off as a sailor, Frederick boarded a northbound train and managed to escape scrutiny. In several days he arrived in New York. After this daring escape, a new life opened for the young man. Over the years he would join abolitionist groups working to free the slaves. By the time of the Civil War, Frederick Douglass had become famous. He would continue to affect the direction of the nation.
How did Frederick Douglass influence public opinion? Why did he inspire so many people? What remarkable characteristics did he possess? Why did President Abraham Lincoln trust him? To find out the answers to these and other questions, go to the library and check out this fine biography on a great American, “Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History” by Walter Dean Myers.
Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014) was an outstanding writer of children’s and adolescent literature. He authored more than 100 picture books and adolescent novels. He frequently wrote about the broken lives of people and the hard times endured by many African Americans. However, he does not write in a spiteful manner but as a brilliant storyteller of various American experiences. He challenges complacent attitudes, but always presents hope to the reader. The literary world is a lesser place with his passing. I hope you get a chance to read his last literary gift to us, “Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History.”
