History books are replete with heroic stories of Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, but what of Allen, Russwurm, and Hawley? America’s Black Founders celebrates the lesser known but significant lives and contributions of our nation’s early African American leaders. Many know that the Revolutionary War’s first martyr, Crispus Attucks, a dockworker of African descent, was killed at the Boston Massacre. But far fewer know that the final conflict of the war, the Ba… More >>
America’s Black Founders: Revolutionary Heroes & Early Leaders with 21 Activities
Tags: african american leaders, african descent, boston massacre, crispus attucks, dockworker, final conflict, hawley, revolutionary heroes, revolutionary war, russwurm
#1 by L. Suzanne Lieurance on July 4, 2010 - 7:59 pm
Here’s another great book from Chicago Review Press and children’s author Nancy I. Sanders. Both Sanders and Chicago Review Press are known for quality nonfiction books for children, and this new activity based guide to African Americans who helped shape their country is no exception.
This is the perfect resource for home schooling parents, traditional classrooms, and school libraries. Sanders uses little known facts and stories to bring history to life for young readers. She gets them engaged in the past with a variety of fun, yet educational activities.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by K. Ventrice on July 4, 2010 - 8:11 pm
America’s Black Founders is a such an informative and educational book. In the section on Richard Allen, Sanders depicts his birth and the despair his mother must have felt knowing her son’s future consisted of a life of slavery…if only she had known Richard was to grow to become one of America’s black founders.
The book is full of wonderful information about a number of unsung heroes in the Revolutionary War. And, Sanders way with words portrays an emotional and descriptive journey from Colonial days to the Revolution’s aftermath.
I’m sure America’s Black Founders will be a valuable tool for parents and educators to bring the true untold stories of these heroic men and women to our children.
Karen Cioffi
Author, Freelance Writer, Reviewer
Day’s End Lullaby
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Kathleen Stemke on July 4, 2010 - 10:59 pm
This book is chock full of information presented through personal stories that will appeal to kids. Nancy Sanders relates the accomplishments of great African Americans in a logical, organized and interested way. I loved it!
Kathy Stemke
Author Educator
Moving Through All Seven Days
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Donna M. McDine on July 5, 2010 - 12:12 am
Even the most reluctant readers will be spell bound from the onset of America’s Black Founders ~ Revolutionary Heroes & Early Leaders. Nancy Sanders has weaved significant events of America’s black founders with facts and activities to provide a true sense of history. Events, people, and places leap from the pages as the light shines on significant African American leaders who were instrumental in early American history. The timeline provided serves as a guide from 1760 through 1837 and the events along the way.
Breaking the chains that bound them in slavery, Richard Allen and many others rose through their adversity and became forces to reckon with. Their due place as founders of the United States of America is a fascinating time in American history and one you will not soon forget.
Run don’t walk, or click through cyberspace as fast as you can and purchase America’s Black Founders ~ Revolutionary Heroes & Early Leaders and become well educated in America’s black founders.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by F. Etier on July 5, 2010 - 1:42 am
America’s Black Founders by Nancy I. Sanders
Let’s get one thing straight. I did not go to school during the Revolutionary War. No, not even grade school. Everything I know about that time period, I learned in school (except whatever I picked up in the movies).Both grade and high school in the 1950’s and 60’s offered comprehensive courses in United States history, if by comprehensive we accept that United States history was made by white, Christian, men (except for Betsy Ross, but a man told her what to do). In the small grammar school I attended, there was one African-American student. My high school experience was different, and for the first three years I attended a rural high school that served thirteen towns. Kids tended to hang with kids they lived near; friendships were forged at bus stops. Neighborhoods were pretty homogeneous, so most kids were friends with people who were from the same race and class as they. Somehow I managed to end up in a multicultural group of misfits who rode the “detention” bus, which was actually the bus for juvenile delinquents and athletes. In those days that would have been two separate groups. Color didn’t put me in the back of the bus, proclivity did. My family moved right before my senior year, and I ended up in the first school system to voluntarily integrate (in the early 60’s). Nevertheless, high school history lessons were as white and male as grammar school’s were.
America’s Black Founders by Nancy I. Sanders is a combination of history and activities designed to teach children about the role of black people–men and women–in early America. It begins with the story of Richard Allen, a seven-year-old boy who was sold as a slave, traces his life, and fittingly ends with his death in his 70’s. America’s Black Founders is filled with photographs and drawings, portraits and illustrations of many black people who helped pour the foundation of America, as well as reproductions of documents and scores of other pictures, modern and historic. It is a rich, photographic treasury of our past.
Readers are introduced to one memorable person after another, many of whom they have never heard. Wealthy sailmaker James Forten, patriot Prince Estabrook, wealthy Louisiana farmer Marie-Therese Coincoin Metoyer, and founder of the Sunday School Movement Catherine “Katy” Ferguson are but a few of the historic figures profiled. Many of these people were influential members of their communities; some influenced our nation and society. A number were associated with more famous figures such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It’s sad to think that few of these people have appeared in history textbooks. Knowing that fifty years of history have been squeezed in since I was a lass, I doubt that they are getting all that much press now.
Certainly America’s Black Founders is a terrific teaching tool for Black History Month, but its appeal is much greater. This is a fascinating collection of vignettes which Sanders has fashioned for readers of all ages. There are relatively few people who couldn’t learn something new and interesting within its pages. Were that not enough, there are 21 activities designed to introduce readers to facets of subjects’ lives, from stuffing a straw mattress to publishing a newspaper. Crafters will enjoy making a clay pot, weaving a fanner, or making a stamp. Artists can “Draw a Political Cartoon” and “Paint a Historic Picture”; writers can “Write a New Verse for `Yankee Doodle’” and “Pen a Patriotic Poem”; and cooks can “Bake Firecakes,” “Cook Pepper Pot Soup,” and “Make Homemade Salt.” In addition, there are suggestions for young movers and shakers: “Write a Government Official,” “Write a Petition,” and “Form a Literary Society.” There are activities appropriate for every age level that would make great classroom projects, but can also be done at home.
America’s Black Founders is a very attractive, large format paperback–an appropriate gift for both children and families. For those interested in history, it is educational without being pedantic. For those of us with ADD, it doesn’t need to be read from beginning to end; leaf through it, stopping here and there, and you will be hooked. No matter how little reading time you have, you have enough time to read these profiles, a little at a time.
Bottom Line: Would I buy America’s Black Founders Enthusiastically, yes.
Rating: 5 / 5