Although the mournful folk song of John Brown’s Body is familiar to many, the story of his fight to free the slaves is often over simplified to the events at Harper’s Ferry. This account, illustrated with larger than life folk legend style paintings, tells his story with greater clarity than most. His struggle to convince others to give up slavery turned violent and John Brown became a violent rebel with a cause that others could not support. Hendrix chose not to skip over the many layers of this story and as a result his narrative might have fit a small chapter book better. The content is heavy for a picture book, but well worth sharing with youngsters who are about to study the Civil War. The problem is that many older students who are ready for this story often resist reading or listening to picture books.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2009.