Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan

The author reports in an Afterword that he came across a collection of slave-related documents that included an “estate sale” of eleven slaves (along with cows, hogs, and cotton). Since the slaves were only referred to by gender and age, he decided he wanted to create stories for them and give

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them voices.

He introduces each slave by a picture he has imagined of the slave, noting his or her age and price. Then he envisions the slaves, in free-verse first-person narrative, describing the roles the might have played on the estate. The next page after each introduction imagines the dreams of that slave, which are in stark contrast to what a slave is allowed to do, and which always end with the dream of freedom.

Athelia, for example, explains that she is the laundress for the Fairchild’s estate and she works “from dawn to dusk, in rain, cold, stifling heat.” Sometimes she has to do more: “As slaves, we do what our owners expect and demand of us.” But she adds, “As human beings, our real lives are our precious secret.” Then she tells of her dreams of the songs and stories of her past in Africa, and of her longing to be free.

Bacus, who works with metals on the estate, has a wife and daughter. Now that they are all up for sale, he is terrified his family will be broken up: “I hardly sleep nights. I have terrible thoughts of separation. Powerless to keep my family together.” He dreams of respect, justice, and of course, freedom.

Each of the eleven slaves is given a voice in this book.

The author/illustrator has won Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award among other accolades. He uses brightly colored drawings and mixed media that he has said draw upon African-American spirituals, poetry, and folklore.

Evaluation: Bryan found an excellent way to show both the harsh realities of slaves, and the ways in which they might have realized some joy through their families, their friends, their memories, and their hopes.

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Page after page of colorful images with a story to tell make this an excellent 2017 Newbery award winner! Eleven slaves sold for varying prices, listed by the price, name and role served on the plantation/farm. Taken from a real-life document found by the author,this is an incredible realistic book

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rendered highly creative by giving a voice to each slave in the major contribution each has to keep the farm running. When the elderly woman who owned the slaves becomes a widow, she decides to go back to England where her memories take her to a nicer time.

Incredible! Imagine how the slaves felt about their life compared to hers!

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Ashley Bryan imagines the thoughts, hopes, skills and dreams of the eleven individuals portrayed in the story. The stories of the individuals are based on actual slave documents. The writing is lyrical. The illustrations are colorful, tender and insightful. I could read this book and look at the

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illustrations over and over again.

This would be an excellent book for a unit on slavery. This would be an excellent book for a unit on plantation life for slaves. Any reader interested in using primary documents as a springboard for imaginative writing and painting would find this book intriguing. Readers interested in history and slavery would find this book engrossing.

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Beautiful art, and thoughtful, imagined histories of eleven real slaves.

I think this is an amazing book that teaches children about slavery with both realism and artistry. The book begins with a poem from the slave owners widow, talking about why she doesn’t feel safe so she must sell her slaves. Next is a painting of all slaves and their sale price. Then, each slave

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narrates two poems, one about who they are (including their role as a slave) and the second about their dreams. The illustrations become more brightly colored and dreamy for the second poem.

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All the poems are about slavery. The poems tell the story of the slaves life and the slave owner's widow who is auctioning off the slavesThe collections start with slave owner’s wife and then moves onto poems about each of the slaves. There are two poems about each person, one about who they are

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and one about their dreams.

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This book offers a peek into the lives of eleven slaves that were up for sale with the Fairchild household. Each page offers a look at what the slave may have looked like along with their jobs and duties in the home. The following page gave the person a chance to describe their dreams and what they

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loved about life.

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A lovely display of slave stories and dreams taken from an appraisal document. A little historical fiction mixed with fiction!

Eleven slaves are being sold after their master's death and his widow wants to move back to England. All with strong skill sets, there are two poems for each of the eleven characters exploring their identity and their dreams. A quick read based on a historical document.

Beautiful and poignant, poetry and imagination of both what slave life was like and what dreams they had. I particularly love how each person has another name in their dream life.