Liberty's Forgotten Hero: The Revolutionary Life of James Forten
June 16, 2026 by Lee & Low Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Born in Philadelphia in 1766, James Forten had an interesting and very different view of a young United States. His father was a sail maker and political activist, and James saw how other Black people were treated differently. He went to London when he was young, and got a different perspective, and returned to the US to work with the abolitionist movement. He also had his own sail making business, and rallied Black men to defend Philadelphia during the War of 1812. Along with William Lloyd Garrison, he founded the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, and supported the newspaper The Liberator. He died in 1842.
The illustrations are brightly colored and have a lot of details of daily life during this period of history like clothing, buildings, etc., and support the text well. My only quibble with them is that they seem a bit heavy and flat. They are digitally rendered, which may account for this. They are fine, just not a style I personally prefer.
This is a longer picture book that would have enough information for research. The inclusion of an afterword and a great timeline is very helpful. There is also a list of Forten's family and their accomplishments. I will purchase this for my middle school library and think it will get a lot of use along with other biographies like Meadow and Law's Jimmy's Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin from a Harlem Boy to a Legendary Writer and Civil Rights Advocate, Zietlow Miller and Jordan's Unstoppable John: How John Lewis Got His Library Card--and Helped Change History, and Chamber and Baker's Shirley Chisholm is a Verb.
No comments:
Post a Comment