Hang a Thousand Trees With Ribbons - Softcover

Rinaldi, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1406312487 ISBN 13: 9781406312485

Publisher: Walker & Company, 2008

Synopsis

Kidnapped from her home in Senegal and sold as a slave in 1761, Phillis Wheatley--as she comes to be known--stuns her adopted country by becoming America's first published black poet."""Includes a reader's guide."

About this title

About the Author

ANN RINALDI is an award-winning author best known for bringing history vividly to life. A self-made writer and newspaper columnist for twenty-one years, Ms. Rinaldi attributes her interest in history to her son, who enlisted her to take part in historical reenactments up and down the East Coast. She lives with her husband in central New Jersey. 

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Rinaldi's latest contribution to historical fiction tells the story of the first important African-American poet. Since Phillis Wheatley lived in Boston just before the Revolutionary War, readers get a dose of U.S. history as well. Rinaldi freely admits in her author's note that she has altered many facts to create "my own Phillis." In her biggest change from reality, she makes Nathaniel Wheatley, irthe handsome, bright, bored son of Phillis's owners, the girl's tutor. This teacher-pupil relationship, which develops into a full-scale crush on Phillis's part, dominates the book. Readers will be drawn in just as Phillis is, and will enjoy their conversations, quarrels, and activities. Unfortunately, Nathaniel is absent during the last few chapters and they consequently limp along, suffering from wordiness and an overabundance of historical data. Phillis's interview with George Washington, which concludes the novel, is sentimental and didactic-a disappointment rather than a celebration. Rinaldi writes well, gives an engrossing look at pre-Revolutionary War life with numerous interesting details, and brings her characters vividly to life. It's too bad she couldn't sustain the novel's initial excitement and appeal. Those who follow it through should also read Merle Richmond's Phillis Wheatley (Chelsea, 1988; o.p.), which sticks strictly to the facts and provides a fascinating contrast to Rinaldi's treatment.
Ann W. Moore, Guilderland Public Library, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker & Company
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1406312487
• ISBN 13: 9781406312485
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 319