Tras los pasos de los… esclavos. (In The Footsteps of The… Slaves)
Reviewed by Roxanne Landin, Fremont Area District Library, Fremont, MI -- Críticas, 4/15/2008
Davidson, M. Th., Th. Aprile and Ch. Heinrich.
tr. by Pilar Guerrero Jiménez. Spain: Blume (Tras los pasos…), dist. by IPG. 2007. 128p. ISBN 978-84-9801-157-9. pap. $14.95.
Gr 4-6–This historical novel follows Monzo and Mangala, two teenage brothers from Mali who are kidnapped and taken into slavery. An interesting first-person account of slave life as seen through the eyes of the siblings, the narrative follows their hardships—the journey across the ocean, life at the plantation, the changing of their names, their new families—until the time of abolition. Along with the watercolors that accompany the story, many 18th-century paintings and journalistic photographs are used to illustrate real slave life and the fight for abolition. Both pictures and paintings anchor the narrative in place and time, providing valuable historical background. The illustrations are described in source notes, and some challenging words highlighted in bold throughout the text are further explained in side notes. Overall, this is an accessible, interesting look at the topic. Recommended for school and public libraries with other titles on slavery.
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