Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley

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Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 1,409 ratings · 125 reviews

Kidnapped from her home in Senegal and sold as a slave in 1761, a young girl is purchased by the wealthy Wheatley family in Boston. Phillis Wheatley--as she comes to be known--has an eager mind and it leads her on an unusual path for a slave--she becomes America’s first published black poet. “Strong characterization and perceptive realism mark this thoughtful portrayal.”--...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published October 25th 1996 by Harcourt Children's Books (first published October 1st 1996)

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Sep 21, 2008 Staci rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who loves historical fiction and strong women main characters!

Read this book a while ago but I had to add it to my books. Ann Rinaldi is hands-down my favorite historical fiction writer!! This book was fantastic because it introduces the reader to Phillis Wheatley, a woman who played an important role during the time period of the American Revolution. The fact that she was a woman, a slave, very well educated, could read and write Latin, wrote poetry, traveled to England to meet royalty, and had Benjamin Franklin tell her to never leave England, because he...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think I've read the majority of Ann Rinaldi's historical fiction novels.

Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons is my favorite of her books. After reading this book in eighth grade, I wrote my first research paper on Phillis Wheatley and her poetry.

I really learned to admire Phillis Wheatley. Her story was inspiring to me. It made me want to write. And of course, because it is fiction, the author added a little bit of love intrigue into the story. I remember wanting Phillis' love interest to love...more

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May 06, 2012 Christopher rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this book compelling; a real "page turner" and read it in 3 days (which meant staying up late to do so!).

The overall story is a poignant one and the author has the sense and professionalism to devote the last chapter to letting the reader know which parts were founded in fact and which parts an elaboration on her part.

I would have liked to give the book 5 stars, but I felt it fell short on a couple of important points:

There is an interweaving of conjecture and fact that runs through the...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Adriane Devries rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical

Ann Rinaldi’s Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons is a wonderful portrayal of the life and times of Phillis Wheatey, an African slave whose unusual education and writings eventually earned her freedom during the tumultuous Revolutionary War era. From her nightmare aboard a slave vessel, to her early education in the home of the caring and well-connected New England Wheatley family, we see young Phillis grow into a passionately literate teenager, willing to risk ostracism from the many white faces...more

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Jun 13, 2011 Hilary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-for-fun

I picked this up after doing a presentation on the history of African American children's literature for a class last quarter. Phillis (Keziah) Wheatley was the first black woman to be published in America--this is pre-Revolutionary War we're talking. Anyway, this is obviously historical fiction, though, of course, like any other book from the genre worth its weight, based on historical documents like letters, diary entries, newspaper stories, etc. In the editor's note, Rinaldi explains what in...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Christina added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 11th-grade-advisory

By: Ann Rinaldi total pages:352

Hang a thousand trees with ribbons by Ann Rinaldi is the story of a slave and her life with the family who owns her. This slave is a girl named Keziah which is the name she was born with, but as soon as she was bought by the Wheatley family they changed it to Phillis. When Phillis was captured into slavery, she was only 7 years old. she was promptly bought by the Wheatley family and began working for them in her new home. Phillis was glad that she was bought by a...more

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Oct 18, 2010 Tiffany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: honors-american-literatuer

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hang a Thousand Tress with Ribbons by Ann Rinaldi
Book Review

Hang a Thousand Tress with Ribbons by Ann Rinaldi is about the first African American poetess named Keziah or known as Phillis Wheatley. The story takes place in the beginning of Phillis’s life, where she blossoms as an individual. Also, in the mists of her life is the start of the American Revolution. Rinaldi narrates the book from Phillis’s point of view. When you read, Rinaldi makes up her own character of Phillis. Her Phillis is v...more Hang a Thousand Tress with Ribbons by Ann Rinaldi
Book Review

Hang a Thousand Tress with Ribbons by Ann Rinaldi is about the first African American poetess named Keziah or known as Phillis Wheatley. The story takes place in the beginning of Phillis’s life, where she blossoms as an individual. Also, in the mists of her life is the start of the American Revolution. Rinaldi narrates the book from Phillis’s point of view. When you read, Rinaldi makes up her own character of Phillis. Her Phillis is vain, confused, silly, saucy, and sometimes a conniving girl. Rinaldi expresses the sadness, power, death, loss, fear, and guilt that Phillis felt throughout the whole book.
The plot starts near the Sengal River off the Grain Coast in Africa. Phillis is captured by slave catchers and sold to America along with her friend, Obour, and her mother. She is bought by the Wheatley Family and taken great care of. Nathaniel, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley soon taught Phillis how to read and write. When Phillis is only ten years old she writes her first poem. Mary, the twin of Nathaniel, found the poem under her pillow while Phillis was out of her room. After Nathaniel recites the poem, which was filled with her innermost thoughts, to the whole family they were shocked. No one believed that an African American could ever create a form of literature. Phillis was embarrassed and thought she was in trouble because her words had to be approved by the Wheatley’s. However, the Wheatley’s praised her and told her to write more. Phillis’s life dramatically changed. She became “Mrs. Wheatley’s nigra girl who writes poetry”. Instead of daily chores, Phillis studied Latin and Greek, read famous stories such as the Odyssey and the Iliad, and recited lines from Shakespeare.
As she began to write more and more poetry, Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley decided to get her poetry published. However, no one believes that a young nigra girl wrote these forms of literature. Phillis and the Wheatley’s continue to struggle to prove that the poetry is really hers. Phillis finds enough influential people who have proved that she wrote the poetry. Now she is free to publish her poetry. Phillis and Nathaniel travel to England to meet more influential people. However, in England Phillis and Nathaniel had a fight and their long friendship was broken forever. Her master, Mr. Wheatley, freed her from slavery. She realizes that freedom has made no difference in her life and only means that she must earn her “own bread”. The Revolutionary War is approaching and no one wants to read books made by and African American girl. In the end, Phillis marries John Peters and she continues to struggle to keep her life together.
Ann Rinaldi expresses the way African Americans were treated on the voyage to America and the prejudice they face. The slave ships were damp and reeked in a disgusting stench. Many died on the trip to America. The slave were chained up and squished into tight spaces. In the beginning of her life, Phillis was Mary’s personal servant. She was at her beck and call and if she did not do something right, Mary would give her a slap. Many slaves were treated poorly in the Americas and I like how Rinaldi expresses the pain and sorrow they face in their everyday life; she shows how it is a fight to survive each day.
Rinaldi created a beautiful work of literature. The words and context goes deeply into Phillis and in me. I can feel Phillis’s pain and sorrow. Throughout the book, Phillis is trying to figure out who she is- a white of Negro person. Rinaldi added substance to Phillis. She creates a character, which portrays a spoiled young African American child who then becomes the first African American slave to create a form of literature. The Wheatley’s gave her much love and attention. This however, ruins the rest of her life because she was not trained with any real-life skills. Phillis was called a “saucy little piece” because of speaking back to other white men with attitude. Phillis was a spoiled little brat sometimes in her life.
Phillis is explained as a vain African America who would “die from shame” from the way she looked with her “dark skin”, “spindled arms”, “short hair”, “scrawny neck”, and a “flat bosom”. She was a normal teenage girl who falls in love indiscriminately and fusses over on the way she looks. Phillis knows that nothing could change the appearance she had on the outside, but she knew that she was white on the inside. I like the way that Ann Rinaldi describes Phillis as a vain teenage girl who expresses herself in a beautiful and different way. “When I wrote, I felt better, as if I had remade the world all of the piece, the way I wanted it to be, not the way it is.” Writing brought happiness to Phillis. She knew that she could write her thoughts on paper. As Phillis exclaims, “All I ever wanted was to write some words down on paper. The fact that I could never ceased being a matter of incredulity on me. I love the way the words look, all of a piece of parchment beneath my hands…,the way I can make them rhyme” and “the smell of the ink I use” Rinaldi does an excellent job of explaining why Phillis loves writing her poetry. “Most of all, I love that when I write I am not skinny and black and a slave. My writing has no color. It has no skin at all, truth to tell”. Phillis sees that writing can express herself in a different way of understanding. She is not an African American slave, but an amazing artist who is deemed for her poetry. The prejudice against African Americans is showed greatly in the country. No one can see the small African American girl who writes this amazing poetry. A saying of “don’ judge a book by its cover” is shown in Phillis. “When I write I am the real me. I am whole, beautiful, alive, filled with a sense of pleasure and worth. Why can’t they just leave it be?” Phillis is questioning why do they have to prove that she wrote the poetry because of the color of her skin. Ann Rinaldi brings the twists and turns of the struggle for African American rights. As Phillis explains, “In my own way I am free” when she writes her poetry. Rinaldi forms a troubled little slave girl with a fallen future who is trying to express her feelings and thoughts to the world. The author captures the thought of freedom for a slave. Phillis believes that she can be “freed by the fruits of my pen”. However, as she fights for her freedom she continues her loyalty to her master. She can’t help but feel tormented. Phillis is like an animal tethered to a pole. She can go only so far and only to break the chain someday. Ann Rinaldi makes Phillis have the success in her writing, however, she realizes that she is still a slave.
To conclude, “Hang a Thousand Tress with Ribbons” by Ann Rinaldi is one of my favorite books. Phillis’s pain and loss and the desire to become free really showed the emotions of this young girl. Ann Rinaldi’s conception to her life is amazing. Phillis is not some boring girl that you hear in your history textbooks but a girl who is trying to find her place in life. Her beginning of her life is filed with her creativity and love with the Wheatley’s. Rinaldi has done a wonderful job and I would give this book a rating of five stars. However, I would recommend this book to historical fictions lovers. Ann Rinaldi makes me think of the world a little differently by the impact of racism in our society is still a major problem. It was a tragic tale but nicely written and well looked into on the details of Phillis’s life.
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Jul 28, 2011 Ellen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Before reading this book, I had heard of Phillis Wheatley, first black American poetess, contemporary of George Washington, but that's about it. This book "put a face" on slavery, particularly for young female readers. They show Phillis as a young teenage girl, often fickle, given to crushes on the master's son and unsure of her own heart. Most interesting for me was the perspective of what happens to a girl who is pampered, even spoiled by her kind owners (but never considered a family member)...more

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May 05, 2008 Rochelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book although I felt some of the characters were a little stock. Knowing how Phillis Wheatley died made the book more poignant. To be "saved" from slavery, poverty, and ignorance, but not from racism creates a rather tragic future for Miss Wheatley. In spite of-and maybe because of-her refined and educated upbringing, talented and erudite Miss Wheatley was still ill equipped for the harsh realities of being black in post-colonial America.

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Mar 02, 2008 Lulu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-blythe

There are a lot of words that would describe this book: Thrilling. Exciting. Great. Spectacular. Interesting.

The true story of an incredible woman slave, Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons is both sensitively sweet and daringly exciting. I loved the author's writing style.

Ann Rinaldi has actually written many, many historical books. I love how she puts her own fictional twist on most of the true stories.

-Lulu

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Aug 15, 2012 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, adolescent-books

This novel says it is a fictionalized account of Phillis Wheatley life. I enjoyed the story and feel Rinaldi did well with her research on Wheatley's life. That being said, I was disappointed that Rinaldi chose to add the story of Wheatley's mother being killed on the slave ship when there is no evidence to suggest that. I also found it disturbing that Phillis was named after the slave ship that brought her to America.

I was saddened that Wheatley life ended in so much sorrow. Rinaldi did not in...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Grete rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well-crafted, but I felt Rinaldi's own agenda colored Wheatley's thoughts too often. Yes, abolitionism and feminism frequently fell in together, but the text was anachronistically feminist - perhaps to make a point to young readers, but why shape that idea into a 2X4 when there are so many other subtle, finely whittled elements? Also, I was absolutely disgusted by Rinaldi's portrait of Wheatley as calculatingly "Christian" and more-or-less secretly pagan. That spiritual tension may or may not ha...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Apr 15, 2009 di rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mom, Camille, Rachel

Recommended to di by: nobody

I was surprised that I liked this book as much as I did! (i think I would actually give it 3.5 stars.) Out of the 3 YA books I brought home last week I expected this to be my least favorite, & it was the best of the bunch. I had never heard of Phillis Wheatley (not surprising. She's a woman. She's black. Why should the historians have had anything to say about her?) I liked how Rinaldi balanced fact with her own interpretation, although there were times I did think it sounded like a modern w...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Picked this book up at a book exchange because it looked interesting. It is a really great work of historical fiction about a woman I had never heard of.

It recounts the life of Phyllis Wheatley, the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry. It begins with her life in Senegal, where, as a child, she was sold into slavery and brought to Boston. The family who purchased her also educated her and ultimately freed her. Everything had its price.
It is a fast read and very interesting, w...more

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Nov 14, 2009 Ivy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Historical fiction people

Recommended to Ivy by: My sister

Shelves: historical-fiction, teen

I have decided that I like Ann Rinaldi. She has a gift for taking historical figures and filling them out, to make them more believable.
This story stars Phillis Wheatley, the poet, and her journey through slavery to the Wheatley family. Phillis isn't angry with her owners, and she grows to love them and their kindness, even though they tend to treat her in a degrading way.
What makes these books so good, I think, is that Ms. Rinaldi focuses more on what the characters are feeling and thinking tha...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Robin Garnica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found the historical part of this book interesting. It is set in Boston around the Revolution. I had never considered the implications and meanings of freedom in ways that were brought to light in this book. I feel like the writer was partial in her description of the main character, and I would have liked more depth to the character. On the other hand, I believe the writer just had some facts and was trying to put a personality to the facts, so my ideas on a different type of character probab...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved it. It was a little too long at times, but overall incredible.

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Jul 10, 2010 Jaime rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i think that this story is something that everyone should read.it shows how a girl was free and safe in Senegal until the people came and and took her her friend and her mother.and so she was purchase as a slave but she wasn't treated like one.and soon the family began to notis her talent of writng poetry and soon they molded her future by having her perform for inportant guests.so soon she was sent to england where her work was published.but despite her achievements phillis is troubled about he...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Loraine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wonderful historical fiction of the first Aferican American poet.

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Dec 24, 2008 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

tis is like one of my favorite books!! it was very very good. read it

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Jan 26, 2012 Sally Whitehead rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

An utterly convincing historical novel which portrays the life of America's first published black female poet, Phillis Wheatley. This would make a superb introduction to African American women's writing, or the issue of slavery, for younger adult readers. However, it serves equally well as an engaging fictionalised account, rooted firmly in historical research, of a key figure in the history of women's lit.

Wheatley's actual poems are only referred to in passing, with the focus being much more on...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Peggy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is another historical fiction novel by Ann Rinaldi focusing on Phyllis Wheatley, a girl who was kidnapped from her home in Senegal and sold as a slave. She is purchased by the Wheatley family and is allowed to learn to read. When the Wheatleys discover she has a gift for writing poetry, they have her perform for guests, and she is sent to England where her book is published, the first book of poetry by an African American woman. Despite her accomplishments, Phillis struggles with who she is...more

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Nov 20, 2011 Jacqueline Rushing rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rdg334

I like this bok for a couple of reasons. I love that someone has finally told the story of Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American woman. Ann Rinaldi does a great job of using all of the facts that history knows about novel's subject while adding in beautiful dialogue and possible reasons as to what lead to her death. My favorite type of biography is one that not only tells the story, but also inspires me to find out more about the subject and encourage others to do the same. In t...more

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Feb 27, 2010 Christina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 52-books-in-52-weeks

This historical fictional piece discussed the life of the black poetess, Phillis Wheatley. Phillis was originally captured from her birth place in Senegal, in which both her friend and mother were captured and put into slavery. As slaves, they were forced unto a ship, that endured the middle passage, and landed in the US by way of Boston, MA. She was sold to the Wheatley family when she was 7 years old, and did not know any English, nor could she read or write in English.

Phillis was taken in by...more

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Jun 11, 2010 Bridget R. Wilson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fiction, ya-historical

Torn from her native land in Africa when only a small child, Keziah arrives in Boston terrified. She doesn't understand what the white people say. On the voyage, she was treated inhumanely and watched her mother die. Bought by Mr. Wheatley for his wife, Keziah becomes Phillis Wheatley. She is a slave, but the Wheatleys don't treat her so. When she shows an aptitude for learning, her master's son, Nathaniel, teaches her how to read. Phillis does well with her tutoring. After a time, she writes a...more

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Oct 17, 2009 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: death, excellent-high-school-level-reads, excellent-jr-high-school-level-read, first-love, historical-fiction, racial-prejudice-identity, social-status, war, ya-lit, eng-420

This novel was further along the historical fiction continuum than the other novels by Rinaldi that I have read. In this book she attempts to use her research to tell the story of Phillis Wheatley--the first published African-American poet. I felt that she did a remarkable job of portraying the evil of slavery and the irony of the Wheatley family who felt like they had done so much good for Phillis in educating her and in encouraging her writing, but with her still being very much a slave and a...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An enjoyable read, however, it was impossible not to compare it to Lawrence Hill's wonderful book, The Book of Negroes, which I rated 5 stars. With similar beginnings (young African girls kidnapped from their villages and brought across the Atlantic Ocean under horrendous conditions, followed by extraordinary their lives as slaves and beyond), Hill's historical novel was a far richer read, filled with unforgettable characters, courage, heart-break and triumph.

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Oct 05, 2012 Melinda Sanders rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My 10 year old daughter loved this book. Phillis Wheatley is an inspiring young woman who was sold into slavery in 1761. The family she works for discovers her gift for poetry, and allows her to entertain their guests with her stories. Wheatley eventually becomes the first published African American woman poet.

Highly recommended. My daughter's review can be found here: http://momonthemake.com/hang-a-thousa...

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Apr 06, 2013 Damieka {LivingInYABooks} rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-love, historical-fiction, slavery, contemporary, coming-of-age, cover-love, i-own, ya, will-break-your-heart, trajedy

I can't sing enough praises for this book. It's inspiring while being depressing and heart wrenching. It's the kind of book you have to stop reading because of how much the words touch you. As someone who is African American, I feel saddened to know things like what happened to Phylis really happened to people I may have been related to. But if you like historical fiction with strong female leads, please pick this up now.

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About Ann Rinaldi

Ann Rinaldi (b. August 27, 1934, in New York City) is a young adult fiction author. She is best known for her historical fiction, including In My Father's House, The Last Silk Dress, An Acquaintance with Darkness, A Break with Charity, and Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons. She has written a total of forty novels, eight of which were listed as notable by the ALA. In 2000, Wolf by the Ears was lis...more

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Books by Ann Rinaldi

A Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials

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