Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History

Written by Walter Dean Myers
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Grade:

2-6

ISBN-13:

978-0060277093

Publisher:

Harper Collins (2017)

​A rich picture book biography of Frederick Douglass, the great orator, writer, newspaper publisher, and advocate for the abolition of slavery. Born a slave in Maryland in 1818, Douglass taught himself to read, and later wrote: “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” When he escaped slavery, he became a leading voice for abolitionism, writing his own autobiography and publishing an abolitionist newspaper. In the Civil War, Douglass pressed Lincoln for emancipation and urged that blacks be allowed to fight for the cause. Lush illustrations trace Douglass’s early life, his struggle for an education and freedom, and his adult quest to change the United States for the better, seeking its ideals of equality and freedom for all.