Words Set Me Free

Words Set Me Free - The Story of Young Frederick Douglass

By Lesa Cline-Ransome

Illustrations by James E. Ransome

Non-fiction - Biography

This is the story of Frederick Douglass's childhood, but more specifically, how he learned to read while in slavery. The book ends with what seems to be a happy ending with a successful escape from slavery, but on the last page there is an author's note with a short biography of the rest of Douglass's life. The book is non-fiction, but there aren't many non-fiction structures in the book, aside from a timeline on the last page. The book is written in story form like any other picture book.

There are two social studies standards I found that apply to this book:

3.H.2.2 - Explain how multiple perspectives are portrayed through historical narratives.

5.C.1.4 - Understand how cultural narratives reflect the lifestyles, beliefs, and struggles of diverse ethnic groups.

Both involve reading texts such as this and gaining a new perspective on a historical event. This is extremely important, especially with this issue of slavery. I think this is a great text to use with kids because it tells a tale of slavery from a kid's point of view, making it much more relatable than a textbook version of the same story. This helps students see the story of slavery from a more personal viewpoint, giving them more of an opportunity to relate the story to themselves and think about how something like this would affect their lives.

Cline-Ransome, L. (2012). Words Set Me Free. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.