John Brown: One Man Against Slavery

by Gwen Everett, Jacob Lawrence (Illustrator)

The views of the controversial abolitionist John Brown and the events leading up to his ill-fated attack on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry are described through the eyes of Brown's daughter, Annie

Genres: Biography, History, Art, African American

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jacob Lawrence's art is the star in this narrative about Brown told from daughter Annie's point of view.

[Julie Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very serious book told from the perspective of John Brown's 16 year old daughter, Annie. Although it is a picture book, I placed it in Intermediate because it talks of John Brown's execution, his religiosity, and his strong beliefs that slavery is wrong and could only be ended in America with bloodshed. Also, the vocabulary used and amount of text is more advanced. The paintings that accompany this book are from a collection owned by the Detroit Institute of Arts. They are powerful, surreal and dark. The images pass beyond their border on some pages and the features of many of the men pictured are indistinguishable, they are merely outlines in dark faces. John Brown is identified by his sad eyes and long beard. The pictures do not match perfectly with what is being said in the text, there are pictures of people gathered around John Brown when that is not occurring in the story, and anguish shown when there is no talk if it. Most of the pictures of John Brown also have a large, stark, black cross in the background, hanging on the wall to represent his religious beliefs. This story is powerful and a little intense. I appreciate it for the beauty of the paintings and the straight-forwardness of the text, but I am not sure how someone younger would react to it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Civil War, Slavery, Jacob Lawrence paintings

[Maughn Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob Lawrence's art is the highlight of this version of John Brown's story told from perspective of his daughter Annie, who helped as a lookout on the Maryland farmhouse before the raid.

[Mary Keen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children's book with more of Jacob Lawrence's wonderful bold paintings. these are focused on much of JOhn Brown's life, including the leadup to the raid on Harper's Ferry.

It's told from the point of Annie Brown, one of his young daughters, who has memories and sadness about his life.

There are also photos of JB, his wife and daughters, and of the artist Jacob Lawrence.

I went to elem school near his tannery in NW PA with the original home and some family graves there. I'm a great admirer of JB, believing like him that his violence was justified --for the higher goal of ending slavery -- altho he's had many critics for his actions.

[Lynda M]

In this instance the story was created around the art. The story of John Brown is told around selections from the series of paintings created by Jacob Lawrence. It was perfect for story time with my 6 year old grandson. This month we are reading about black history.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary abolitionist John Brown's raid electrified the nation and brought us closer to civil war. In this book Annie Brown daughter of the abolitionists struggles with the question: if her father's methods were right in his pursuit for freedom and an end to slavery.

[Amy Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to read this picture book when we study John Brown. The illustrations are stylized, but fitting. The text is informative and gives a good spring-board for discussing the ethics that surround John Brown's actions.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars solely for the illustrations of Jacob Lawrence.

[Karen Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrator Jacob Lawrence

[Brittany Walley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little bit of a long book, but has a great story! Sad but good!