Today (2/9/2025) I read Freedom on the Sea: The True Story of the Civil War Hero Robert Smalls and His Daring Escape to Freedom.
I picked up this 2024 nonfiction picture book by Michael Boulware Moore because I’m a fan of Robert Smalls, and wanted to see how a picture book handled his story.
If you aren’t familiar with Smalls, you should be. Smalls was an enslaved man who not only escaped to freedom, he stole the Planter, a Confederate ship and sailed it north. He not only successfully delivered this boat to the Union, he led the other enslaved workers on board to freedom as well.
I was startled when I reached the end of the book, and found the writer was telling the story of his own great-great-grandfather.
I recommend everyone learn more about Smalls and his heroism. This book is one way to do so. I’ll be honest: the illustrations are lovely, and the content critically important, but the story was told only moderately well. (It was more of a series of tableaux than a really dramatized story.) It is good, but Smalls is great.
