Seven Miles to Freedom

July 1, 2008
Gr 3-7-Born and raised a slave in coastal South Carolina, Smalls worked on the docks, then learned shipbuilding and piloting. In an amazing feat of daring in 1862, he stole a Confederate ship by impersonating the captain, sent a rowboat to pick up waiting family members, sailed past five Confederate forts, and turned the ship over to Union troops blockading the area. Smalls became the first African-American captain of a United States vessel; he later served in the South Carolina legislature and the United States Congress. He was featured in Eloise Greenfield's collective biography "How They Got Over" (Amistad, 2003), but this book is an excellent vehicle to bring his story to a wider audience. Although presented in picture-book format, the text is detailed and there is a lot of it; the artistically beautiful but impressionistic images require some visual maturity from the audience. The oil paintings employ thick, bold strokes and deep saturated colors to convey Smalls's strength and determination in successfully delivering his and his crew's family members to freedom."Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2008
Halfmann focusesmostly on Smalls as a young slave whose master lets him work on the waterfront, and then on the planning ofhis secret escape to freedom. Spacious, impressionistic oil paintingsaccompany a text that describes Smalls, who, when the Civil War breaks out, uses his expert navigational skills and knowledge of the secret steam-whistle signals toguide his ship pastharbor guardsto escape with his family andcrew. Suspense mounts as the women and children on the boat hide "in pindrop quiet"as their boatpasses one, two, then three forts. When the boatfinally reaches the Union side, the passengersmust mustprove that they are fugitives, not enemies. Thestrongly impressionisticart, largely in shades of brown and blue, will appeal most to older children;there areclose-up portraits of Smalls studying charts and maps, and thenopen views of ocean and sky that speak to freedom.An afterword and source notes fill in Smalls important political role. .(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2008
Smalls, a slave who worked as a ship's wheelman, executed a plot to maneuver his ship into Union waters, rescuing himself, his family, and other slaves. The saga is exciting, and Smith's paintings capture the story vividly, with strongly defined brush strokes, rich colors, and intense facial expressions. An afterword fills in Smalls's story (he went on to become a congressman). Bib.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)