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The Slave Dancer
(2004, Fiction - Historical Fiction, Written by Paula Fox)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Moderately graphic depiction of the slave trade.
updated 07.04.08
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 10 and Up
What to watch out for
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Violence :
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Sex :
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About The Slave Dancer
Parents need to know that this is a moderately graphic depiction of the worst aspects of the slave trade, told exclusively from a white boy's point of view, and it will raise many questions, both historical and moral. Though the reading level is middle to upper elementary, sensitive children may find it disturbing.
Read our full review by Matt Berman
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about the author's choice to make the narrator a young, white boy instead of a slave or a slave owner. Does the fact that Jessie is more or less an innocent bystander in the slave trade make his description of what he sees more or less reliable? How do Jessie's experiences before boarding the ship affect the way he views the slaves? The sailors? In what ways do you think the horror of his experiences aboard the ship will affect him long after he returns to dry land?
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Our Members Say
See all 9 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
Lives inI rate this title on for age 2 and give itslave dancer picture book
- Lives in North CarolinaI rate this title on for age 11 and give it
A great book for 8th grade social studies
This book very well explains how the slave life was like back then..slaves were sold like candy..like they ment nothing..they did though..slavery was wrong.
- Lives in TexasI rate this title off for age 2 and give it
stupid
this book is so retarded that i was sleeping while i was reading it .and i just read it cause i had to do a stupid proyect well actually i didn't even finish it cause it was freaking boring ... anyways guys dont read it hahaha read the book night by elie wiesel its about jews and war its so good bye
- Lives in CaliforniaI rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Maybe disturbing for people who aren't ready
A good book that I recomend to people who can handle it. It's a little intense. There's beating and some language, there's also lots of dying. It's a little depressing to see what people did to the african slaves.
- Lives in CaliforniaI rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Awesome graphic!
the slave dancer, yet quite gruesome, is a spellbinding book retelling the horric practices of slave trade. it also explain the cruelty of human nature and inhuman conditions. Overall, I give this book 5 stars!(if i can give more i would.)
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