King Philip: The Indian Chief

by Esther Averill, Vera Belsky (Illustrator)

The oral history of the seventeenth child of black sharecroppers, describing her life in Virginia and New Jersey during the Depression.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Esther Averill (1902-1992) began her career as a storyteller drawing cartoons for her local newspaper. After graduating from Vassar College in 1923, she moved first to New York City and then to Paris, where she founded her own publishing company. The Domino Press introduced American readers to artists from all over the world, including Feodor Rojankovsky, who later won a Caldecott Award. In 1941, Esther Averill returned to the United States and found a job in the New York Public Library while continuing her work as a publisher. She wrote her first book about the red-scarfed, mild-mannered cat Jenny Linsky in 1944, modeling its heroine on her own shy cat. Esther Averill would eventually write twelve more tales about Miss Linsky and her friends (including the I Can Read Book, The Fire Cat), each of which was eagerly awaited by children all over the United States (and their parents, too).

Reviews

[Janellyn51 · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it says it's a children's book.....it still is well written and more informative than you might expect. I am descended from the Mayflower. Being wicked white, I feel compelled to say that I don't blame Philip at all. This book doesn't state that he was upset with his father for giving or trading away his legacy of his peoples land. This book focuses on how the second generation of Pilgrims, or children of the originals, did not honor treaties they made. As they encroached on Philips hunting grounds, and thought of the natives as savages, life for the natives of this land became untenable. The government sold his people into slavery to foreign countries........hmm where have I heard that lately? And again, it was a native, converted to Christianity, a "praying Indian" who sold Philip down the river.

[Nicholas & Megan Clinch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart-rendingly needful.🎙️
“Thus tract after tract is gone. But a small part of the dominion of my ancestors remains. I am determined not to live, until I have no country.“