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African Town : inspired by the true story of the last American slave ship  Cover Image Book Book

African Town : inspired by the true story of the last American slave ship

Latham, Irene (author.). Waters, Charles, 1973- (author.). Davis, Joycelyn M., (writer of introduction.).

Record details

  • ISBN: 0593322908
  • ISBN: 9780593322901
  • ISBN: 0593322886
  • ISBN: 9780593322888
  • Physical Description: 438 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm.
    print
  • Publisher: New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2022.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references (pages 433-435).
Formatted Contents Note: Introduction / by Joycelyn M. Davis -- Home is where the story is -- Dreams and schemes -- Life interrupted -- Ouidah -- Voyage to America -- Mobile swamplands -- Enslaved -- When war comes to town -- The truth about freedom -- African Town -- Life is but a dream -- Author's note -- Voices -- More about the characters -- Africatown today -- Selected time line -- Glossary -- Poetry forms/styles -- Learn more about the shipmates, the Clotilda, and African Town.
Summary, etc.: In 1860, long after the United States outlawed the importation of enslaved laborers, 110 men, women and children from Benin and Nigeria were captured and brought to Mobile, Alabama aboard a ship called Clotilda. Their journey includes the savage Middle Passage and being hidden in the swamplands along the Alabama River before being secretly parceled out to various plantations, where they made desperate attempts to maintain both their culture and also fit into the place of captivity to which they'd been delivered. At the end of the Civil War, the survivors created a community for themselves they called African Town, which still exists to this day. Told in 14 distinct voices, including that of the ship that brought them to the American shores and the founder of African Town, this powerfully affecting historical novel-in-verse recreates a pivotal moment in US and world history, the impacts of which we still feel today.
Target Audience Note:
Ages 14-18. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Grades 9-12. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Awards Note:
Nutmeg Award Nominee, Middle School (Teen), 2025.
Winner of the 2023 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.
Subject: Africatown (Ala.) History 19th century Fiction
Novels in verse
Black people Africa Fiction
Africa Fiction
Clotilda (Ship) Fiction
Slave trade Fiction
Novels in verse
Black people Africa Fiction
Africa Fiction
Clotilda (Ship) Fiction
Slave trade Fiction
Genre: Historical fiction.
Novels in verse.
Young adult fiction.

Available copies

  • 24 of 46 copies available at Bibliomation.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 46 total copies.
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Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Babcock Library - Ashford YA F Lat (Text) 33110150606794 Young Adult Fiction Available -
Beacon Falls Public Library YA FIC LAT (Text) 33120155766295 Young Adult Fiction Available -
Beardsley Branch - Bridgeport YA LATHAM (Text) 34000151457801 Young Adult Fiction Available -
Bethel Public Library TEEN LATHAM (Text) 34030150548045 Teen Fiction Available -
Black Rock Branch - Bridgeport J On Order (Text) acq1338145 Acquisitions On order -
Bolton High School FIC LAT (Text) 34062150685048 Fiction Available -
Brookfield Library TEEN F/LATHAM (Text) 34029150041365 Teen Fiction Available -
Burroughs-Saden Main - Bridgeport J On Order (Text) acq1343432 Acquisitions On order -
C.H. Booth Library - Newtown YA FIC LAT (Text) 34014150063445 Young Adult Fiction Available -
C.H. Booth Library - Newtown YA FIC LAT (Text)
NUTMEG NOMINEE: 2025 - Middle School
34014152223443 Young Adult Nutmeg Recently Returned -


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