Food for thought, food for the mind of a child
Caribbean Life, March 13-19, 2020 39
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
It’s that time of day and your
stomach’s growling.
That’s what happens when
you’re hungry and you need
to eat: your body reminds you
that a growing kid like you
needs good food. Feeding your
belly makes you stronger, and
in the new book “Bread for
Words: A Frederick Douglass
Story” by Shana Keller, illustrated
by Kayla Stark, a young
boy finds something to feed
his soul.
Little Freddy didn’t know
when he was born, but he
knew where: he came into the
world in a cabin in Tuckahoe,
Maryland, and he lived there
with his Grandma.
He did for awhile, anyhow,
until the day Grandma sadly
told Freddy that he had to
leave the cabin because he was
a slave and Old Master needed
him at “the Great House
Farm.” Freddy didn’t exactly
know what a slave was, but
he quickly learned that being
one meant lots of work and
he absolutely had no say-so
about it.
The only reason for that, as
far as he could tell, was that his
skin was dark and Master’s son,
Daniel, was fair-skinned. This
also meant that Daniel had a
nice bed with blankets, while
Freddy had nothing like that
at all. Daniel also had schoolbooks,
but when Freddy asked
to learn to read and write, he
was told that it was “Unlawful”
and “Unsafe.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have
asked: his questioning got him
sent to Baltimore, where he was
supposed to take care of a boy
named Thomas. Once there,
Freddy got a better bed and
just a little education, thanks
to Thomas’s mother – but then
Thomas’s father became very
angry when he learned that
his wife taught Freddy some
words! Thomas’s father knew
that if Freddy could read, he
might try to reach for freedom.
It was right then that Freddy
knew how reading “could loosen
the chains of bondage.” It
was then that he knew he had
to make a plan. “That moment”
made him figure out a way…
No doubt about it: your child
loves books. Most kids do; they
love the pictures, the words,
and the goodness of snuggling
up with a new story. “Bread
for Words” is one they’ll love
to share.
You’ll have plenty to discuss
with your little book-fan,
too, once you’ve read this tale
together. Author Shana Keller
uses a small-but-momentous
chain of events to introduce
children to the life and work of
Frederick Douglass, and it’s all
told quite minimally, staring
with small slices of plantation
life and ending with Douglass’
search for learning. This brevity
makes the story more powerful
in its lack. Hint: don’t
bother with the afterword; it
mostly just repeats the body
of the book, but do read the
author’s notes. Properly introduced
and explained in a kidfriendly
way, they could send
kids running for more information.
While illustrations by Kayla
Stark could be fun for small
children, this book is really
more for early grade-schoolers
who enjoy biographies and
history. Introduce “Bread for
Words”to your 6-to-10-year–
old, and they’ll be eager to bite
into it.
“Bread for Words: A
Frederick Douglass Story”
by Shana Keller, illustrated
by Kayla Stark
c.2020, Sleeping Bear
Press $16.99 / $21.99
Canada 32 pages
Book cover for “Bread for Words” by Shana Keller.
Rodneyes Bichotte talks
about her political journey
By Johnny Kunen
On this edition of Power
Women, New York State Assemblywoman
Rodneyes Bichotte,
joins Schneps President and Publisher,
Vicki Schneps, to describe
her journey into the world of politics,
from joining the senatorial
campaign of Barack Obama in the
early 2000s, to becoming a district
leader and recently, the head
of the Kings County Democratic
Club, one of the largest democratic
counties in the country. Bichotte
also talks about family values,
being civically engaged and also
emphasizes the importance of
women having the belief in themselves
when it comes to pursuing
their goals. Listen to this and
our other podcasts at Podcasts.
Schnepsmedia.com and download
wherever podcasts are found! document.
createElement('audio');
ht tps: //www.caribbeanl
i fenews.com/wp-content /
uploads/2020/03/PW-Rodneyes-
Bichotte.mp3
New York State Assemblywoman
Rodneyes Bichotte.
/Schnepsmedia.com
/www.caribbean-li
/www.caribbean-li
/www.caribbean-li
/www.ca
/wp-content