To Be a Slave

To Be a Slave

To Be A Slave is a children's novel by Julius Lester, illustrated by Tom Feelings. The book received the Newbery Honor medal in 1969. It explores what it was like to be a slave. The book includes many personal accounts of ex-slaves. This book is about how it felt. The words of black men and women who had themselves been slaves are here, accompanied by Julies Esther's historical commentary and Tom Feeling's powerful and muted paintings, To be a Slave has been a touchstone in children's literature for over thirty years.

quick facts
Author:Julius Lester
Genre:Autobiography, Biography, Children's literature, Fiction
Year published:1968
Number of editions:16

Honors and Awards

YearAward Won
1969 Newbery Honor
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Author of To Be a Slave

Julius Lester
Julius Lester
Age:73
Birthplace:St. Louis, Missouri
Education:Fisk University

Julius Lester is an American author of books for children and adults, and taught for 32 years at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also a photographer, as well as a musician who recorded two albums of folk music and original songs. Born on January 27, 1939, in St. Louis, Missouri,...
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Additional works by Julius Lester
BookCopyright DateGenre
Shining Children's literature
What a truly cool world
Day of Tears Children's literature
Cupid Children's literature
Black cowboy, wild horses
Do Lord Remember Me Fiction
Long journey home Children's literature
When the beginning began
This Strange New Feeling Children's literature
The Knee-High Man and Other Tales Children's literature
Let's talk about race
Why heaven is far away
John Henry Picture book
Blues Singers, The Children's literature
Black folktales Children's literature
Othello Fiction
The autobiography of God December 7, 2006 Fiction
Time's memory 2006 Speculative fiction
Albidaro and the mischievous dream
Ackamarackus
When Dad killed Mom
The Old African
The last tales of Uncle Remus
More tales of Uncle Remus
From slave ship to freedom road Children's literature
Lovesong Autobiography
On writing for children & other people
The man who knew too much
And all our wounds forgiven
Basketball Game Children's literature
Sam and the tigers
Pharaoh's daughter
How many spots does a leopard have? and other tales
Who I am
Mr. Wolf and His Tail
Untitled Slave Narrative Book 2
Search for the new land
Mr. Rabbit and Mr.Bear
All is well
Further tales of Uncle Remus
How the Snake Got Its Rattle
hungry ghosts
Essays eines schwarzen Sozialisten
A Folksinger's Guide to the 12-String Guitar As Played by Leadbelly
Look out, Whitey!
Revolutionary notes
Sam & the Tigers
Read and Listen - Cassette 4
A Taste of Freedom
Read and Listen - Cassette 6
Two love stories
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Literary Genres

Autobiography
Autobiography

"If you like autobiographies, as I do, then you will be pleased to know that this one actually is an auto-biography. It has been written entirely by...
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Biography
Biography

A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. It entails more than basic facts , a biography also portrays a subject's...
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Children's literature
Children's literature

Children's literature as such probably started in the 17th century; it is generally believed that before then books were written mainly for adults....
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Fiction
Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but...
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To Be a Slave
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