Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge
CCBC Review:
In an unusual account of Ona Judge, who ran to escape enslavement in George Washington’s household, the narrator addresses Ona herself, asking, “Why you run Ona Judge? / You had fine dresses, fancy bonnets for your bushy black hair, soft shoes for your tender brown feet. Why you run Ona Judge?” The second-person narrative continues to describe Ona’s life in Washington’s home, continually returning to the rhetorical question, “Why you run Ona Judge?” After Ona makes her escape, the text begins to answer its repeated question: “You knew you were more … than a ten-dollar pet the lady wanted back. / You dreamed a dream you would make true. To read, to write, to do what you want, to go where you like, to make sure your children would not be enslaved … ” The realistic illustrations convey the determination in Ona’s facial expressions throughout and the drama inherent in her escape. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Keith Mallett
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 7-10
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
18th Century
African Americans
Agency
Presidents
Slavery
U.S. History
Diversity subject:
Black/African
Publishers:
Farrar Straus Giroux, Macmillan
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 38
ISBN: 9780374307042
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 920 Judge