Freedom in Congo Square
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Enslaved people's culture, jazz roots shine in lyrical book.
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Colonial Congo
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What's the Story?
FREEDOM IN CONGO SQUARE shows the hard work carried out by enslaved workers in New Orleans -- feeding animals, plowing fields, making beds, baking bread, cleaning clothes, scrubbing floors, picking crops, doing chores -- from Monday to Saturday leading up to their one day of legal rest on a Sunday. That's when they gather at Congo Square, where they're able to commune with other enslaved and free people, celebrate their African heritage and speak their native languages, sing traditional songs, and play music on the instruments of their homelands: "They rejoiced as if they had no cares; /half day, half free in Congo Square. / This piece of earth was a world apart. / Congo Square was freedom's heart."
Is It Any Good?
This lyrical, beautifully illustrated picture book contrasts harsh realities of enslaved workers' plantation lives in the 1800s with the joyful release of Sunday gatherings in a New Orleans square. Freedom in Congo Square captures the hard work and constraint that the enslaved people experienced six days a week, as well as the celebratory figures of people singing and dancing and feeling a sense of spiritual freedom as they celebrate their heritage on Sundays in a legally designated free zone.
Illustrator R. Gregory Christie's folk art-style paintings in a palette of mostly orange and ochre are warm and inviting. Kids will be drawn in by the art and come away having learned some significant history, including the link between those Sundays and the development of New Orleans jazz.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the slaves' lives are pictured in Freedom in Congo Square. What did their weeks look like day-to-day in the lead-up to Congo Square?
What does it mean to be free? In what way did Congo Square offer a sense of freedom for enslaved people?
What did you learn about the roots of jazz music from Freedom in Congo Square? Look up some New Orleans music online, or ask an adult to play a jazz recording for you. Think about how that music grew out of the enslaved Africans' music.
Book Details
- Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
- Illustrator: R. Gregory Christie
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Arts and Dance , History
- Character Strengths: Perseverance
- Book type: Non-Fiction
- Publisher: Little Bee
- Publication date: January 5, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Awards: Caldecott Medal and Honors , Coretta Scott King Medal and Honors
- Last updated: February 5, 2023
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