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Amistad Rising: A Story of Freedom
A picture book account illustrates the plight of Joseph Cinque and his fellow slaves during the Amistad mutiny and how they triumphed with the help of former President John Quincy Adams.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
3 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Veronica Chambers
64 books282 followersVeronica Chambers is a prolific author, best known for her critically acclaimed memoir, Mama’s Girl, which has been course adopted by hundreds of high schools and colleges throughout the country. The New Yorker called Mama’s Girl “a troubling testament to grit and mother love… one of the finest and most evenhanded in the genre in recent years.” Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, Ms. Chambers' work often reflects her Afro-Latina heritage.
Her most recent non-fiction book was Kickboxing Geishas: How Japanese Women are Changing their Nation. Her other non-fiction books include The Joy of Doing Things Badly: A Girl’s Guide to Love, Life, and Foolish Bravery. She has also written more than a dozen books for children, most recently Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa and the body confidence Y/A novel, Plus. Her teen series, Amigas, is a collaboration between Chambers, producer Jane Startz, and Jennifer Lopez.
Veronica spent two seasons as an executive story editor for CW’s hit series Girlfriends, and earned a BET Comedy Award for her script work on that series. She has also written and developed projects for Fox and the N.
Veronica has contributed to several anthologies, including the best-selling Bitch in the House, edited by Cathi Hanuaer, and Mommy Wars, edited by Leslie Morgan Steiner.
A graduate of Simon’s Rock College at Bard, she and her husband have endowed three scholarships at the college in the fields of music and literature. She has been the recipient of several awards including the Hodder fellowship for emerging novelists at Princeton University and a National Endowment for the Arts fiction award. She speaks, reads and writes Spanish, but she is truly fluent in Spanglish. She lives with her husband and daughter in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Her most recent non-fiction book was Kickboxing Geishas: How Japanese Women are Changing their Nation. Her other non-fiction books include The Joy of Doing Things Badly: A Girl’s Guide to Love, Life, and Foolish Bravery. She has also written more than a dozen books for children, most recently Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa and the body confidence Y/A novel, Plus. Her teen series, Amigas, is a collaboration between Chambers, producer Jane Startz, and Jennifer Lopez.
Veronica spent two seasons as an executive story editor for CW’s hit series Girlfriends, and earned a BET Comedy Award for her script work on that series. She has also written and developed projects for Fox and the N.
Veronica has contributed to several anthologies, including the best-selling Bitch in the House, edited by Cathi Hanuaer, and Mommy Wars, edited by Leslie Morgan Steiner.
A graduate of Simon’s Rock College at Bard, she and her husband have endowed three scholarships at the college in the fields of music and literature. She has been the recipient of several awards including the Hodder fellowship for emerging novelists at Princeton University and a National Endowment for the Arts fiction award. She speaks, reads and writes Spanish, but she is truly fluent in Spanglish. She lives with her husband and daughter in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 26, 2018
This book was recommended for our home school, but after reviewing it we won't be keeping it for our home library. Unfortunately, there are a few things that keep me from recommending the book:
1) The "poetic" first and last pages are not my taste at all. I could get over them, but...
2) When the biracial slave cook told Cinque that the Spaniards were going to eat the Africans, the author wrote his reaction as, "Fear and anger filled Cinque. He would not be eaten by the white men who held him captive. He would not." The word "white" struck me as superfluous--obviously he wouldn't want to be eaten by the black or biracial crew members either. I probably could have gotten over this annoyance as well, but...
3) There's no mention of the abolitionists being Christians, Cinque becoming a Christian or the Africans returning home with Christian missionaries. This is no surprise, of course, but I have a difficult time with the words given to Cinque as the African coast was in sight, he called out "By the strength of our spirit and with the assistance of our ancestors, we are not slaves today." It is possible but doubtful that Cinque would ancestor worship as a Christian in the company of Christians.
1) The "poetic" first and last pages are not my taste at all. I could get over them, but...
2) When the biracial slave cook told Cinque that the Spaniards were going to eat the Africans, the author wrote his reaction as, "Fear and anger filled Cinque. He would not be eaten by the white men who held him captive. He would not." The word "white" struck me as superfluous--obviously he wouldn't want to be eaten by the black or biracial crew members either. I probably could have gotten over this annoyance as well, but...
3) There's no mention of the abolitionists being Christians, Cinque becoming a Christian or the Africans returning home with Christian missionaries. This is no surprise, of course, but I have a difficult time with the words given to Cinque as the African coast was in sight, he called out "By the strength of our spirit and with the assistance of our ancestors, we are not slaves today." It is possible but doubtful that Cinque would ancestor worship as a Christian in the company of Christians.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2024
North Atlantic slave trade was over. Previous chattel slavery was legal in North America, but taking more slaves from Africa was prevented by treaty. Two Spanish plantation owners paid to take 53 free Africans and force them to work on their property in the Caribbean. In route, the free African men broke from their bonds, took over the ship, and told the Spanish plantation farmers to turn back to Africa.
I found this book looking for picture size stories of U.S. History to teach fifth grade and this book is now part of my top ten.
I found this book looking for picture size stories of U.S. History to teach fifth grade and this book is now part of my top ten.
July 12, 2018
This is a beautifully illustrated true story of the famous ship Amistad and its kidnapped passengers who were being sent like cattle to a life slavery an ocean away from their homes. Bravely, they fought back against their captors and took control of their own destiny. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of their battle to freedom. Amistad Rising is a must have addition to any school library or classroom.
July 20, 2021
While I had heard of Amistad, it was not a subject I had actively sought out to learn more about. "Amistad Rising" by Veronica Chambers is an excellent format to introduce children and adults into a true story of slavery, hope, and freedom.
February 14, 2018
plz
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2019
Such stunning illustrations and the language of the text is very poetic.
April 12, 2013
Veronica Chambers has contributed her talent of writing to many magazines such as Newsweek, Vogue and Glamour. She was also an editor for The New York Times Magazine and as a senior associate editor for Premiere magazine. Chambers is also known for her memoir titled Mama’s Girl and the children’s picture book, Amistad Rising.
Amistad Rising takes the historical events surrounding the true story of Joseph Cinqué, and effectively captures the horrific effects slavery had on Cinqué and the other 53 prisoners held captive aboard the ship Amistad. Chamber’s story resurrects a historical event by imagining Cinqué’s mental and emotional states throughout his fight to win his freedom. Chamber’s writing is both direct and poetic. The story conveys the factual details in a straightforward manner, but also embodies a poetic style. This poetic style, found at both the beginning and the end, connects the idea of the sea, and its mutable existence, as the setting for the tale. The beginning of the story opens up with the following sentences, “Have you ever wondered why the ocean us so wide? It’s because it hold so much history. There’s not a drop of seawater that doesn’t have a secret; not a river or a lake that doesn’t whisper someone’s name” (Chambers, 1998). Chamber’s conveys the power water has to overwhelm and capture, connecting the idea of a boat capsizing on the sea, and connecting this metaphor to the reality Cinqué and the other Africans had to face after being imprisoned by the slave traders. Chamber’s effectively compares Cinqué’s release from captors and his freedom with the wind and rain, “If you stand right here on the New London shore, you can hear the words of the great Joseph Cinqué…The wind whispers it as it blows around your head. And when the rain falls, it’s like tears of happiness” (Chambers, 1998).
In addition, Paul Lee’s illustrations compliment the written text quite well and effectively convey the emotional and heroic essence of the historical events that occurred
In terms of age appropriateness, this book seems appropriate for children eight years old and up. However, some of the pages contain large portions of text that can be overwhelming to younger readers. As a historical fiction, Amistad Rising would be a great addition to enhance either an existing African American history or American History collection.
Amistad Rising takes the historical events surrounding the true story of Joseph Cinqué, and effectively captures the horrific effects slavery had on Cinqué and the other 53 prisoners held captive aboard the ship Amistad. Chamber’s story resurrects a historical event by imagining Cinqué’s mental and emotional states throughout his fight to win his freedom. Chamber’s writing is both direct and poetic. The story conveys the factual details in a straightforward manner, but also embodies a poetic style. This poetic style, found at both the beginning and the end, connects the idea of the sea, and its mutable existence, as the setting for the tale. The beginning of the story opens up with the following sentences, “Have you ever wondered why the ocean us so wide? It’s because it hold so much history. There’s not a drop of seawater that doesn’t have a secret; not a river or a lake that doesn’t whisper someone’s name” (Chambers, 1998). Chamber’s conveys the power water has to overwhelm and capture, connecting the idea of a boat capsizing on the sea, and connecting this metaphor to the reality Cinqué and the other Africans had to face after being imprisoned by the slave traders. Chamber’s effectively compares Cinqué’s release from captors and his freedom with the wind and rain, “If you stand right here on the New London shore, you can hear the words of the great Joseph Cinqué…The wind whispers it as it blows around your head. And when the rain falls, it’s like tears of happiness” (Chambers, 1998).
In addition, Paul Lee’s illustrations compliment the written text quite well and effectively convey the emotional and heroic essence of the historical events that occurred
In terms of age appropriateness, this book seems appropriate for children eight years old and up. However, some of the pages contain large portions of text that can be overwhelming to younger readers. As a historical fiction, Amistad Rising would be a great addition to enhance either an existing African American history or American History collection.
September 9, 2014
This book tells the true story about the slave Joseph Cinque. The story illustrates the horrible details about the effects of slavery on the passengers. The story illustrates Joseph's eternal struggle to find freedom. Chambers writing is extremely well done. The book is almost like a poem, but also direct and forward. The slaves on the boat are seeking refuge. They hope by reaching new land that they can find help. Instead they get the opposite, they are in prisoned as runaway slaves. Not being able to speak a word of english they are destined for death after killing their masters. Soon the tides turn when an abolitionist lawyer argues that they are free men from another country. The case reaches the supreme court where John Quincy Adams pleads for their lives.
The pictures in the book are my favorite thing about it. The pictures depict the raw emotions of the slaves and their internal struggle to find freedom. The book is extremely poetic in the beginning while strong and direct in the middle. I would recommend this to upper class elementary school kids.
The pictures in the book are my favorite thing about it. The pictures depict the raw emotions of the slaves and their internal struggle to find freedom. The book is extremely poetic in the beginning while strong and direct in the middle. I would recommend this to upper class elementary school kids.
February 21, 2015
"Amistad Rising" is a fictional account of the life of Joseph Cinque based on true events. The book is a picture book that would be appropriate for Middle Childhood. The book is about how Joseph was kidnapped from Africa and sold into slavery. Eventually he was able to take over the ship with the help of the other slaves. He had ordered the Spaniards to guide the ship back to Africa but at night they would turn it back around and head to North America. The ship lands in New London, Connecticut. The Africans were sent to jail until there would be a trial. I'll stop there, I recommend reading the book to find out how the story ends!
In Spanish the word amistad means "friendship". I was surprised to learn this because being that it was a slave ship it seems very contradictory to name it something that means friendship. I think the book tells an inspiring story, that teachers can utilize to begin teaching a unit about slavery. I wish the author would have revealed if Joseph was ever reunited with his family.
In Spanish the word amistad means "friendship". I was surprised to learn this because being that it was a slave ship it seems very contradictory to name it something that means friendship. I think the book tells an inspiring story, that teachers can utilize to begin teaching a unit about slavery. I wish the author would have revealed if Joseph was ever reunited with his family.
March 10, 2009
Tale of Singbe/Joseph Cinque. Captured as a slave destined for America, on board the Amistad Cinque leads a mutiny. For a brief time the captives enjoy freedom. Discusses the subsequent court battles and John Quincy Adam's involvement. Detailed illustrations allow the text to become more real, personal.
July 26, 2010
One line of the book is "It is a true story," but I found it more fictional biography, with its focus on Joseph Cinque's legend. That is okay, but I think the book's hopeful theme (fighting for freedom can lead to freedom), could have been balanced with a little more information on the world to which Cinque and his fellows returned.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 20, 2010Amistad Rising tells the true story of the Amistad slave revolt. Readers follow the story through the eyes of captured slave and passenger, Joseph Cinque. This is an excellent read for a classroom unit on the transatlantic slave trade. Students could also debate from either side of the supreme court case that eventually ruled to free the captured slaves.
July 28, 2013
Poetic and beautifully told story about the 1839 revolt of Africans aboard the slave ship "Amistad." It was not particularly detailed, but it presents a simple introduction to this topic. Excellent illustrations depict the darkness of the time.
November 20, 2015
This is a picture book appropriate for upper elementary and older. It's very well written. I love how it opens, "Have you ever wondered why the ocean is so wide? It's because it it holds so much history...." It is a story of slavery and fighting for freedom.
May 1, 2015
good to read along with Edinger's "Africa is My Home"
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews