School Library Journal
Gr 5–9—After a dramatic opening description of abolitionists waiting for word that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed, this title reviews the events that led up to the Civil War, examines Lincoln's reasons for writing it, and details the role of abolitionists. Bolden makes excellent use of primary sources; the pages are filled with archival photos, engravings, letters, posters, maps, newspaper articles, and other period documents. Detailed captions and a glossary interpret them for today's readers. Quotations from both Lincoln's contemporaries and modern scholars also break up the text. All the visual elements combine to give pages the look of a scrapbook, making the title a pleasure to browse as well as a source of research material. Bolden has chosen to tell the story in a personal voice, from the perspective of African Americans and abolitionists, "who were pledged to universal liberty." While this narrative technique makes for riveting reading and gives readers a greater understanding of the viewpoint of these groups, they won't find much information here on the Unionist Democrats, moderate Republicans, or those who opposed the Emancipation Proclamation. Pair this with another title, such as Charles W. Carey Jr.'s The Emancipation Proclamation (The Child's World, 2009) to gain that perspective.—Jackie Partch, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
AUGUST 2018 - AudioFile
The Emancipation Proclamation is mainly associated with the American Civil War, but its story is also entwined with politics, religion, and the often-conflicting beliefs of President Abraham Lincoln. Under his guardianship, the Proclamation blossomed, grew, stagnated, resurfaced, and finally took root. Bolden writes in the collective "we" point of view, and with it, narrator Michael Early transports the listener into the midst of the slavery debate. Speaking slowly and distinctly, he eloquently delivers a story peppered with quotes in the lofty language of the day. He narrates gravely but unflinchingly of horrific and desperate conditions, for example, recounting the story of one fleeing man taking a knife to his own body, cutting muscle and tendon to make himself unsaleable in case of capture by slave hunters. Illuminating and well documented. L.T. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
A vivid depiction of the issues and tensions surrounding abolition and the development of Lincoln's responses to them as the United States plunged into the Civil War. From the first, Bolden adopts a personal voice that infuses her narrative with urgency--"Over the years, we rejoiced when a Northern state abolished the abomination. We agonized when a slave state entered the union." The account opens with scenes of hushed abolitionist vigils as the hour that the proclamation would officially go into effect approaches; it closes with glimpses of the joyous celebrations that followed. In between, the author tracks rising tides of both rhetoric and violence, as well as the evolution of President Abraham Lincoln's determined efforts to forge a policy that would serve military, political and moral necessities alike. Along with relevant sections of the Constitution and the final proclamation's full text (both with glosses), the author adds to her narrative a heavy infusion of impassioned rhetoric from contemporary writers and orators. These, plus a spectacular set of big, sharply reproduced prints, photos and paintings, offer cogent insights into major events and the overall tenor of the public discourse. A convincing, handsomely produced argument that the proclamation, for all its acknowledged limitations, remains a watershed document. (endnotes, bibliography, extensive timeline) (Nonfiction. 12-15)
