Book
African Town : inspired by the true story of the last American slave ship / Irene Latham & Charles Waters ; introduction by Joycelyn M. Davis.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780593322888
- ISBN: 0593322886
- ISBN: 9780593322901
- ISBN: 0593322908
- Physical Description: 438 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm.
- Publisher: New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2022.
- Copyright: ©2022
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 433-435). |
| Formatted Contents Note: | Introduction / by Joycelyn M. Davis -- Home is where the story is -- Dreams and schemes -- Life interrupted -- Ouidah -- Voyage to America -- Mobile swamplands -- Enslaved -- When war comes to town -- The truth about freedom -- African Town -- Life is but a dream -- Author's note -- Voices -- More about the characters -- Africatown today -- Selected time line -- Glossary -- Poetry forms/styles -- Learn more about the shipmates, the Clotilda, and African Town. |
| Summary, etc.: | Chronicles the story of the last Africans brought illegally to the United States on the Clotilda in 1860. 1859. The transatlantic slave trade has been banned for more than fifty years, and the South is facing the threat of a civil war. Timothy Maeher resents the government interference in his right to make a living. Making a bet that he can smuggle enslaved Africans into the United States without being caught, he commissions the Clotilda, and brings back 110 African captives. Among them are Abilè, Gumpa, Kêhounco, Kossola, and Kupolee, who survive the voyage and arrive in Alabama still clinging to the hope of one day returning home. -- adapted from jacket In 1860, long after the United States outlawed the importation of enslaved laborers, 110 men, women and children from Benin and Nigeria were captured and brought to Mobile, Alabama aboard a ship called Clotilda. Their journey includes the savage Middle Passage and being hidden in the swamplands along the Alabama River before being secretly parceled out to various plantations, where they made desperate attempts to maintain both their culture and also fit into the place of captivity to which they'd been delivered. At the end of the Civil War, the survivors created a community for themselves they called African Town, which still exists to this day. Told in 14 distinct voices, including that of the ship that brought them to the American shores and the founder of African Town, this powerfully affecting historical novel-in-verse recreates a pivotal moment in US and world history, the impacts of which we still feel today. |
| Target Audience Note: | Ages 14-18. G.P. Putnam's Sons. Grades 9-12. G.P. Putnam's Sons. |
| Awards Note: | Nutmeg Award Nominee, Middle School (Teen), 2025. Winner of the 2023 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. |
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Young adult fiction. Novels in verse. Historical fiction. |
Available copies
- 24 of 46 copies available at Bibliomation. (Show)
- 4 of 8 copies available at Bridgeport Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 46 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beardsley Branch - Bridgeport | YA LATHAM (Text) | 34000151457801 | Young Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Black Rock Branch - Bridgeport | J On Order (Text) | acq1338145 | Acquisitions | On order | - |
| Burroughs-Saden Main - Bridgeport | J On Order (Text) | acq1343432 | Acquisitions | On order | - |
| East Side Branch - Bridgeport | J On Order (Text) | acq1335001 | Acquisitions | On order | - |
| Newfield Branch - Bridgeport | YA LATHAM NUTM 2025 (Text) | 34000151328135 | Young Adult Fiction | Display | - |
| Newfield Branch - Bridgeport | YA LATHAM NUTM 2025 (Text) | 34000151419603 | Young Adult Fiction | Display | - |
| North Branch - Bridgeport | YA LATHAM (Text) | 34000151335197 | Young Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| North Branch - Bridgeport | YA On Order (Text) | acq1327795 | Acquisitions | On order | - |
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