Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem by Marilyn Nelson (1 book) (32 pages)

Bibliographic Information:

Nelson, M. Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem. Asheville: Front Street.

Grade Level Appropriateness:

6th – 8th

Author Credibility:

The author worked with the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and the Mattatuck Museum of Waterbury, Connecticut to do the research for this book.

Summary of the Book:

This book is written as a tribute to Fortune, a slave who was freed. The book is written as a poem. The author wanted it to be sad in the fact that we mourn the loss of Fortune but that we also celebrate his life. It tells of his wife and when he died. It tells of how Dr. Porter preserved the slave’s body to examine the human anatomy. The end tells of how Fortune wasn’t just bones and skin and body parts; he had a soul and was a real person.

Illustrations:

The author uses primary source documents and photographs to illustrate this book.

Features:

The book is divided into parts, but they aren’t labeled as chapters. There is author’s note, preface, and afterward. There is a section for notes and sources at the end of the book.

How I would Use the Book in My Classroom:

I would probably use this book as a part of a lesson on slavery.

Response:

This was a good book, but it wasn’t what I had hoped it would be. I don’t know what I had thought it would be, but this wasn’t it.