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Title details for William Still and His Freedom Stories by Don Tate - Available

William Still and His Freedom Stories

by Don Tate
Don Tate
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
William Still's parents escaped slavery but had to leave two of their children behind, a tragedy that haunted the family. As a young man, William went to work for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, where he raised money, planned rescues, and helped freedom seekers who had traveled north. And then one day, a strangely familiar man came into William's office, searching for information about his long-lost family. Could it be? Motivated by his own family's experience, William began collecting the stories of thousands of other freedom seekers. As a result, he was able to reunite other families and build a remarkable source of information, including encounters with Harriet Tubman, Henry "Box" Brown, and William and Ellen Craft. Award-winning author-illustrator Don Tate brings to life the incredible, stranger-than-fiction true story of William Still, a man who dedicated his life to recording the stories of enslaved people fleeing to freedom.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 7, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666538182
      • File size: 15459 KB
      • Duration: 00:32:12

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Adam Lazarre-White has a deep, sonorous voice that lends dignity and importance to this picture-book biography of William Still, a lesser-known but major figure in the Underground Railroad system. Still was born free to formerly enslaved parents and later worked for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Mood-setting music and the sounds of nature accentuate milestones in Still's life, culminating in his secret nighttime trip to hide the incriminating but vital personal stories of freedom seekers he'd aided. These meticulously kept records later helped reunite families separated by slavery. Without benefit of the picture book, however, listeners will be perplexed by a section of truncated, trailing sentences and the sound of voices over voices--an attempt to auditorily replicate an image in the picture book of the many stories Still recorded in his book. L.T. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 16, 2020
      Author-illustrator Tate (Swish!: The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters) profiles abolitionist William Still in this clear, comprehensive narrative. Graceful free verse opens on Still’s family history: Levin and Sidney Steel escaped enslavement in Maryland—the former by buying his freedom, the latter by escaping with the couple’s two daughters—but their two sons were left behind. Reuniting and changing their name to Still, the couple grew their family in New Jersey, until William was born in 1821 as the youngest of 15. Tate concisely details Still’s schooling, his hiring at age 26 as the office clerk for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, and a fortuitous meeting with an Underground Railroad passenger that led Still to transcribe the stories of each freedom seeker he met. Textural digital illustrations and expressive characters punctuate the affecting text (“Peter’s story was sad. Tragic./ Miraculous. And extraordinary./ And Peter’s story restored his family”). An illuminating picture book biography of a lesser-known hero. Back matter includes a timeline, an author’s note about the book’s inspiration, and a bibliography. Ages 6–10.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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