Phillis Sings Out Freedom

Gr 1—3—Parallel stories tell of a poem written by Wheatley that inspired General Washington during the Revolutionary War. Born in Africa, Phillis was taken by slave traders and sold in Boston as a young girl. Her owners, the Wheatleys, allowed their daughter to teach her to read. They were amazed by the poems she soon began to write. Her abilities challenged many people's convictions that slaves had low intelligence and could not be educated. After being freed, Wheatley decided to take up another cause. In 1775, she wrote a poem about freedom and sent it to Washington. He wrote back, thanking her for her confidence in him. For Washington's part of the story, the author concentrates on the difficult winter of 1775—'76, when the Continental Army was camped in Massachusetts, keeping the British Army bottled up nearby in Boston. Including both individuals places Wheatley into chronological context and broadens the appeal of this picture book. Oil paintings help readers gain a sense of the period.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA