Freedom Over Me is a powerful and poetic text that gives eleven enslaved individuals a voice with lives and dreams.
In the author's note, Ashley Bryan states that he came across many slave related documents from the 1820s to the 1860s. The documents he came across touched him in many ways. He decided to focus on one document, The Fairchilds Appraisement on the Estate Document from July 5, 1828. In the appraisal, there were eleven slaves (no ages, only names, and prices), cows, hogs, and cotton. Bryan decided to create a voice, age, alternative names, and a life bigger than being enslaved.
"Every salve was so much more than that cruel moniker. They were individuals, each person, who had a dream."
Each individual is given two pages. One page is more bland and monotoned-the life of the enslaved. The second page is a lot more vibrant and lively as it depicts the dreams and hopes the individual might've had.
When looking at the images of the individuals, I could not help but notice the marks on their faces. The older individuals have more marks and wrinkles, likely, from their age and turmoil they have had to face.
Bryan used collaged pieces of the documents as the background throughout the book.
About the Author:
Ashley Bryan
Author Interview :
Making Connections:
At first glance, one may not make the connection to A Crack in the Sea but they can be easily tied together. Freedom Over Me could be used as a mentor text. Bryan writes in free verse to give emphasis and individuality to each character. By doing so, he writes in a way that encompasses their thoughts and perceptions of the world. You could use this in other texts to write poems from the characters' perspectives: Persona Poems.
For example, I did mine from the character Pip.
I am called Pip.
They try to call me Pippen,
but it does fit.
I have a special gift,
the ability to talk to fish.
To creatures under the water.
They want to take me.
They did take me
Just to help them, so they say.
But how much help
can a kid really be?
A kid that cannot
even recognize a face.
I get scared sometimes.
And miss Ren and Kinchin.
But the excitement, the exploration,
It really is fun.
No one to stop me.
No one to underestimate me
or remind me of my weaknesses.
Just a tribe, longing for my strength.
Bouwman, H. M., & Shimizu, Y. (2019). A crack in the sea. New York: Puffin Books.
Bryan, A. (2016). Freedom over me: eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Frye, E. M., & Hash, L. A. (2013). The Voices of Children: Re-imagining the Internment of Japanese Americans through Poetry. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 25(4), 30–32.