Newbery Honor Book Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
Book Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents Ashley Bryan offers a
moving and powerful picture book that contrasts the monetary value of a person with the
priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away.
Imagine being looked up and down and being valued as less than chair. Less than an ox. Less
than a dress. Maybe about the same as…a lantern. This gentle yet deeply powerful way goes to
the heart of how a slave is given a monetary value by the slave owner tempering this with the
one thing that can’t be bought or sold: dreams. Inspired by the actual will of a plantation
owner that lists the worth of each and every one of his “workers ” the author has created
collages around that document and others like it. Through fierce paintings and expansive
poetry he imagines and interprets each person’s life on the plantation as well as the life
their owner knew nothing about—their dreams and pride in knowing that they were worth far more
than an overseer or madam ever would guess. Visually epic and never before done this stunning
picture book is unlike anything you’ve seen.
