Lively writing and select poems from Dunbar, the son of freed slaves, create a compelling biography of this nineteenth-century American poet. Author’s Note, Chronology, Source Notes and Side Trips on the Research Journey, Bibliography

In my opinion, this is an emotional book. The book is about a man named Paul Laurence Dunbar and his experiences with Slavery and the mistreatment of people of color. Although the book is emotional, I do think it is a good read. The language in this book, especially, is very descriptive. For example, one line in the book says, "Now, Paul's daddy, Joshua, he was a bitter man, Growing up a slave, he swallowed such a heap of anger, he knew he had to either escape or explode." This language conveys the only options that slaves had back in this time period. To get out of slavery, they had to either escape discreetly and hide or they took their anger out at the owners but then would get killed or thrown in jail. Another aspect I liked about this book is that the illustrations were in black and white and they were appropriate to the mood of the story. Everything back during this time was all about black and white (people), so that's why I think the illustrations are printed in black and white. Also, black and white illustrations convey a sad, emotional mood, which is what this story is all about. ( )

biography, poetry, history

I am not usually a big fan of poetry, but I loved this book with its informative and cultural poems. Many of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poems are about the segregation and discrimination African Americans had to deal with in their daily lives. It was a new way for me to look at some of these issues because it was not about one big event that might have made the news, but instead the topics are about daily issues. This story would be an excellent resource for students learning about African American segregation, discrimination and slavery. I would use it for a read allowed in a 4 to 6th grade classroom. It is also a source I would use for an author study lesson.

I LOVED this biography of Paul Dunbar. The author has a super strong voice that sings out the story of Paul Dunbar and mixed in between the story are Paul's poems, which are amazing. There are two kinds of poems, one is a traditional, flowery kind of poetry and the second is written in an African American dialect. Equally powerful and rhythmic. I thought this one was terrific. ( )