Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Frederick Douglass
David A. Adler · 2010
85/100
👍 Worth It
David Adler does something genuinely valuable here — he lets Douglass speak for himself throughout, weaving primary-source quotes through a narrative that's clear enough for middle-grade readers without flattening the weight of what Douglass lived. The archival photographs and historical documents make it feel real, and the award recognition from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Kirkus is well-earned. The violence of slavery is handled honestly and age-appropriately, which is exactly right for this subject.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety82
substance86
craft84
originality76
accuracy90
hype86
age-fit88
human-eye88
Penny’s verdict85
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