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The Slave Dancer

(2004, Fiction - Historical Fiction, Written by Paula Fox)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.
  • Is it any good?

    5.0
  • Common Sense says

    Moderately graphic depiction of the slave trade.

updated 07.04.08

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The behavior of the sailors, toward each other and toward the slaves, is appalling. The slaves are beaten and starved, and humiliated.
  • Violence :

    The book is necessarily filled with graphic violence, none of it gratuitous, from floggings and beatings to murder by shooting and throwing overboard.
  • Sex :

    Many of the slaves are naked, and the sailors enjoy looking at them. Jessie peeps through windows at women undressing.
  • Language:

    The racial epithet beginning with n is used frequently.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Quite a bit of drinking and drunkenness on the part of the sailors, who also give young Jessie beer, which he doesn't like.
 

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.

Did this review help you decide?

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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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 1.0

    slave dancer picture book

  2. Teen Reviewer
    Age 14
    Lives in North Carolina
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 5.0

    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.

  3. Teen Reviewer
    Age 15
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title off for age 2 and give it 1.0

    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

  4. Kid Reviewer
    Age 11
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 3.0

    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.

  5. Kid Reviewer
    Age 11
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    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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