Hello, friends! We’re wrapping up Black History Month tonight with the award-winning Freedom In Congo Square, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.

They count the days. Each day, the unnamed slaves of a Louisiana plantation labor without rest under the watchful eye – and occasionally cruel lash – of their masters and overseers. Anonymous, featureless figures with bent backs toiling over crops, washbins, stoves and hearths. They tend the animals, harvest the fields, cook the meals, clean the house, even raise the children of their owners. Some disobey; they are beaten. Some try to run; they risk capture and far worse. So they count down to Sunday, the half-day every week when they are allowed to gather, slave and free black man alike, in Congo Square in New Orleans. They play music, dance, exchange information. It’s here they can remember their roots, it’s here that jazz will be born, and it’s here that they can, for a few short hours, taste life without servitude as free men and women.

Gorgeous and moving. The story is flawlessly laid out in elegantly simple couplets, introducing the oppressive lives of the slaves first to make the cathartic emotions of their precious freedoms all the more impactful. The text is honest without being sensationalist, presenting the themes and emotions plainly yet poignantly. The art is stunning – faceless black bodies work against backgrounds that nearly breathe with heat and exhaustion, giving way to the vibrant images of Congo square, where at last the figures are given features and life as they shake off their subjugation for a while. The length is great, and JJ liked it a lot. We highly recommend it, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved.