Freedom in Congo Square

Parents need to know that Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie earned both a 2017 Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award Honor. It's an exuberant historical picture book that celebrates the place where, starting in 1817, enslaved and free people in New Orleans could get together to dance, sing, and play music -- including with African songs and instruments -- on Sundays. The story is told in spare rhyming verse and folk art-style paintings that contrast the hard, exhausting workweek on the plantation with the joyful gathering on the one day of rest. It's an engaging, accessible intro to the subject of slavery and the roots of America's one indigenous music genre: jazz. The poetry is lyrical yet doesn't sugarcoat the harsh realities of slaves' lives. There's no violence shown, but there's an image of a white man on horseback with a weapon and three dogs, apparently going after (unseen) runaway slaves ("Run away, run away. Some slaves dared./Two more days to Congo Square"). Another scene shows an overseer with a whip as slaves work in the field ("The dreaded lash, too much to bear./Four more days to Congo Square"). A foreword and author's note give more historical facts and context and describe Congo Square, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, today.