"Modeled after an actual slave narrative, this moving first-person tale follows 12-year-old Kofi from his kidnapping in West Africa to his cruel enslavement in Massachusetts and his subsequent freedom and career as a sailor . . . "The well-crafted and compelling survival story juxtaposes two cultures and gives a unique account of slavery".--Horn Book.
In this iconic, wrenching Newbery Medal winning book, a young Louisiana boy faces the horrors of slavery when he is kidnapped and forced to work on a slave ship. Thirteen-year-old Jessie Bollier earns a few pennies playing his fife on the docks of New Orleans. One night, on his way home, a canvas is thrown over his head and he’s knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, Jessie finds himself a…