96th out of 533 books
—
1,388 voters
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons
by
Ann Rinaldi
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.
Includes a reader's guide.
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
March 1st 2005
by Graphia
(first published October 1st 1996)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,150)
Sep 21, 2008
Staci
rated it
5 of 5 stars
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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
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.
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
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
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
I was saddened that Wheatley life ended in so much sorrow. Rinaldi did not in...more
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
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Apr 15, 2009
di
rated it
4 of 5 stars
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
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
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
Nov 14, 2009
Ivy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
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
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
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
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
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
Wheatley's actual poems are only referred to in passing, with the focus being much more on...more
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
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
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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
Phillis was taken in by...more
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
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
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.
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...
Highly recommended. My daughter's review can be found here: http://momonthemake.com/hang-a-thousa...
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
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
More about Ann Rinaldi...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Loading...










view 1 comment



















