Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Saunders
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Poignant story of the last Africans enslaved in the U.S.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
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Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
BARRACOON: ADAPTED FOR YOUNG READERS begins with an introduction by Ibram X. Kendi that gives context to his adaptation of Zara Neale Hurston's Barracoon. The narrative then starts in Hurston's voice, explaining her first visits, in the late 1920s, with Cudjo Lewis, the man presumed to have been the last living African, in contrast to African American, to have been enslaved in the U.S. Cudjo narrates his story, from his young days in Africa, to his capture, imprisonment, transport on the mIddle Passage, enslavement, freedom, and founding a town with fellow formerly enslaved people. Hurston occasionally explains where the conversations take place and how their relationship unfolds, but this is Cudjo's tale front and center.
Is It Any Good?
This poignant book reveals the personal and collective toll of U.S. slavery on Black people and families. In Barracoon: Adapted for Young Readers by Ibram X. Kendi, readers are shown that slavery is not really so far behind us. Cudjo Lewis was a real person, but he also serves as a symbol for many generations and Black experiences, from his brief, happy childhood in Africa to life on U.S. soil through slavery, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow. Readers unfamiliar with written African American English may need to adjust to reading Cudjo's voice, but with Hurston's explanation, the dialect is accessible and quickly picked up. Kendi preserves Zora Neale Hurston's wise choice of structure in Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" -- Cudjo's story is embedded in the account of their relationship, which feels like a young person listening to stories at a beloved elder's knee. Though there's much sadness in this book, there's also remarkable resilience and stark proof that stories connect people to history and one another in profound and important ways.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why it's important to share our stories. What are some of your favorite stories about your family and community? Are there some stories that are upsetting or sad? What did you learn from the story told in Barracoon?
What are some of the ways the interviewer shows empathy for her subject in Barracoon? What are some steps she takes to make their communication easier?
Talk about the theme of perseverance in Barracoon. How do the Africans demonstrate it? How does the interviewer demonstrate it? Have you ever had to work hard for something for a long time? What did that feel like?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Jazzmen Lee-Johnson
- Genre : Biography
- Topics : Activism , Friendship , History
- Character Strengths : Communication , Empathy , Perseverance
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Amistad Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : January 23, 2024
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 208
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Awards : Common Sense Selection , NAACP Image Award - NAACP Image Award Nominee
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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