''A Picture of Freedom'' is a children's historical novel written by

Patricia C. McKissack Patricia C. "Pat" McKissack (''née'' Carwell; August 9, 1944 – April 7, 2017) was a prolific African American children's writer. She was the author of over 100 books, including Dear America books ''A Picture of Freedom, A Picture of Freedom: ...

and published by Scholastic in 1997 as part of their

Dear America ''Dear America'' is a series of historical fiction novels for children published by Scholastic Corporation, Scholastic starting in 1996. By 1998, the series had 12 titles with 3.5 million copies in print. The series was canceled in 2004 with its ...

series.

Plot summary

The book is written in the form of a diary kept by Clotee, a young slave girl on a Virginia plantation in 1859. Clotee secretly teaches herself to read and write while fanning William, her owner's young son, during his lessons with his mother Miz Lilly. Clotee is discovered by Mr Harms, the tutor, who is actually an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

working to help slaves escape via the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. When Clotee is given the opportunity to escape, she must decide whether to run away to freedom or stay behind to help other slaves escape. Clotee's best friend on the plantation is a very strong girl named Spicy. Spicy desperately wants to change her name to Rose (the name her mother picked out for her), but is forced to accept the name given by her owners. Clotee later writes in Spicy's Bible, the only keepsake that Spicy has from her mother, that Spicy's name is actually Rose. Spicy is also in love with Hince, the person who Clotee calls her "brother-friend". Clotee and Spicy are the property of "Mas' Henley," a cruel man. While Master Henley never whips or beats Clotee in the book, he does strike Spicy across the face in the final chapter. Mistress Lilly Henley is a weak, foolish woman and a disinterested mother. Clotee's mother was Lilly Henley's personal maid, but Master Henley forced his wife to sell her maid; Clotee's mother later died far from her daughter. Clotee's father is not present in the story as he drowned in the river before she was born. Mistress Lilly often tries to make Clotee her little pet, claiming that Clotee's mother was a very good friend of hers. Clotee always finds a way to decline and Lilly soon gives up, taking another housemaid under her wing and trying to turn the household servants against each other. When Ely Harms is driven off the Henley Plantation, Clotee takes his place as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Clotee comes up with a plan so that Mr Harms didn't get arrested. Clotee eventually runs away; we later learn that she has become a teacher. She also keeps up correspondence with William Henley, who becomes an abolitionist as well. Clotee dies at the age of 92, and the book ends with the quote from her gravestone: "Freedom is more than a word".

Adaptations

In 1997, the book was adapted for television by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

for their Dear America miniseries. The episode starred

Shadia Simmons Shadia Simmons (born June 28, 1986) is a Canadian actress, teacher, and director. She is best known for her role as Corrine Baxter in the television series ''Strange Days at Blake Holsey High'', her recurring role as Emily on ''Life with Derek'' ...

as Clotee.

References

1997 American novels 1997 children's books American children's novels Children's historical novels Fictional diaries Novels about American slavery Novels set in Virginia Fiction set in 1859 Novels set in the 1850s Books by Patricia McKissack American novels adapted into television shows Children's books set in Virginia Children's books about racism Children's books set in the 1850s {{1990s-epistolary-novel-stub