Review by Booklist Review
Young Nemy is an enslaved child who works in the sugarcane fields. One night she follows Big Mother to a small shack where she finds a group of women braiding each other's hair. She discovers that these hairstyles are a way of encoding secret messages that detail plans for escape and maps to freedom. Set in sixteenth-century Colombia and based on the story of San Basilio de Palenque, one of the first free African towns in the Americas, Duncan's fictionalized story helps to broaden knowledge of African enslavement in the Americas beyond the United States. Moses' digital art captures the difficult life endured by workers of these sugarcane plantations, the weary faces of these women, and the meaningful hairstyles that facilitated their escapes. Richly hued throughout, the color palette brightens as the group reaches freedom. Told in simple, often lyrical language and enriched with an author's note and end papers filling in details about the hidden meanings of the braids, this will be a welcome addition to elementary social studies and history units.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An enslaved Black child reflects on the role hair braiding plays in her life and her community. Nemy scatters seeds and pulls weeds in the fields. She observes a woman named Big Mother, who works hard in the sugar cane fields, cooking and telling stories before bed. When Nemy follows Big Mother to a shack one night, she sees her and other women braiding one another's hair. Nemy joins them, and as her hair is braided, she remembers her own Nana. Surrounded by a loving, tight-knit community, she learns how women braid messages, information, and even seeds into their hair. One morning, the group--including Nemy--flees, the routes of freedom braided in their hair. They avoid danger and recapture until they can establish a new home, deep in the forests surrounding the plantation. In an author's note, Duncan explains how she drew from real history--specifically the experiences of those enslaved in Colombia. Quietly tinged with hope, her narrative demonstrates how those in bondage used skills passed down over generations to find the liberty they desired. Moses' digitally rendered art depicts intricate braid patterns; his dramatic use of color during the escape scene heightens the drama, bathing characters in deep blues as they make their way to freedom. A poignant tale of courage and resistance and of long-standing cultural traditions.(Picture book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
