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Summary
Summary
The story of revolution leaderToussaint L'Ouverture of St. Domingue (now Haiti).
The island now known as Haiti was once a French colony called St. Domingue, where white plantation owners forced hundreds of thousands of African slaves to farm sugar cane. Toussaint L'Ouverture was one of those slaves . . . but not for long. The day would come when L'Ouverture would lead his island's slaves into a revolution for freedom, and his efforts would influence the course of world history.
Author Notes
Anne Rockwell was born in Memphis, Tennessee on February 8, 1934. She moved to New York City at the age of 18 and found a job doing typing work for a textbook publisher. She studied at Pratt Graphic Arts Center and at the Sculpture Center.
She became an author and illustrator. Her first children's book, Paul and Arthur Search for the Egg, was published in 1964. Her other books included Boats, Fire Engines, Things That Go, Our Earth, and Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth. She collaborated on several books with her husband Harlow Rockwell including Sally's Caterpillar and The Toolbox. After her husband's death, she collaborated with her daughter Lizzy Rockwell. Their books included Career Day and Zoo Day. She died of natural causes on April 10, 2018 at the age of 85.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Horn Book Review
This book touches on sophisticated ideas of race, politics, and national identity that influenced the life of eighteenth-century Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture. Background information detailing the history of Haiti and international relations between France and England enhance this cradle-to-grave story. Christie's expressively shaded gouache illustrations handsomely decorate a lesser-known chapter of world history. An author's note and "Cast of Characters" are appended. Bib. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In this eye-opening biography, Rockwell makes a strong case that Toussaint L'Ouverture is one of the most overlooked heroes of the eighteenth century. A freed slave of the French colony of St. Domingue (what we now know as Haiti), L'Ouverture was 48 when he was so inspired by his people's uprising against the French that he joined them and, through his oratory and strategical skills, became their leader. In 1793, he led history's first triumphant slave rebellion, but the resulting freedom would not last long. Eight years later, Napoleon sent troops to capture the island; the acumen of St. Domingue's army, combined with the onset of yellow fever, decimated the French troops before L'Ouverture's eventual and mysterious surrender. Rockwell biggest revelation: Napoleon's onslaught was meant as a precursor to attacking the U.S.; instead, it ended the general's career and led to the Louisiana Purchase. Evocative paintings in primary colors help tell the story (the rendition of Toussaint in prison is especially poignant), while biographies and source notes make up the excellent back matter.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2009 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
It wouldn't seem possible to make high school jocks, popular girls and losers fresh and hilarious, but Yoo does it. His Romeo and Juliet story is a winner (outcast Albert Kim with popular girl Mia? No way), but it's Albert's ice-dry telling of his tale of woe that sets it apart. From his uncool Korean parents with their "legitimately tragic childhoods" to the angry little kids next door ("a barrage of iceballs arc overhead like grenades"), Albert views growing up with all the comic sweetness and unsentimentality it deserves. POSY By Linda Newbery. Illustrated by Catherine Rayner. Atheneum. $16.99. (Ages 2 to 5) The kitten in this handsome book conducts classic feline maneuvers (playing with yarn, pouncing, laundry-inspecting) that could draw in cat lovers of any age. All swirly stripes, whiskers and looks of surprise, Posy is undeniably cute. Newbery and Rayner 's book, though, would have been stronger with a story line of some kind; young readers might not find enough of a reason to have a second or third look after absorbing the appealing pictures. WE CAN'T ALL BE RATTLESNAKES By Patrick Jennings. HarperCollins. $15.99. (Ages 8 to 12) The wisecracking and irritable-sounding narrator here is definitely something different: "I am a snake. ... a gopher snake." Gunnar, the child who has captured "Crusher" ("He thinks I'm male. I'm not"), dumps her in a tank near his other pets: "a tarantula, a desert tortoise and an alligator lizard." The other creatures are at first unfriendly, refusing to communicate telepathically, but soon they are joining forces and Crusher is methodically planning her escape. Her seen-it-all voice, and the twists and turns of Jennings's plot, make for an engaging and very funny story. ERIKA-SAN Written and illustrated by Allen Say. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $17. (Ages 4 to 8) Say's book makes a case for following your dreams, however inchoate and even ... dreamlike they are. An old picture of a house in the Japanese countryside captivates Erika, an American girl. She studies Japanese at school and after college goes to Japan to teach. At first Tokyo is disappointing; it's not "old Japan" and nothing feels right. But then she finds an island town and a friend who shows her around by bicycle. In the end they marry and move to a small farmhouse, "home at last." DINOTHESAURUS Prehistoric Poems and Paintings. Written and illustrated by Douglas Florian. Atheneum. $17.99. (Ages 6 and up) Florian's whimsical rhyming text contains helpful lessons: for example, how to pronounce "Micropachycephalosaurus," for "small, thick-headed lizard," or "Plesiosaur" - "we always say PLEASE before we might bite." A bit of dinosaur lore follows: "What kept the Spinosaurus warm /When it was colder than the norm?/ Spines much like a solar panel./ (And long underwear of flannel.)" The underwear part might be misleading, but Florian's art - in gouache, collage, colored pencil, stencils, etc. - is gorgeous and fun. OPEN THE DOOR TO LIBERTY A Biography of Toussaint L'Ouverture. By Anne Rockwell. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $18. (Ages 9 to 12) The story of L'Ouverture, who led a successful rebellion in the French slave colony of St. Domingue - now Haiti - is full of cruel reversals. An eloquent leader (John Adams was an admirer), L'Ouverture resisted unnecessary violence, but failed to build on his victory and died in a French prison. Rockwell succeeds admirably in explaining a complicated life, and the American-primitive-style drawings are a good match. But there is no simple or uplifting moral to the story of this tragic hero. JULIE JUST
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Toussaint, born a slave in the French colony of St. Domingue, led the first successful slave uprising in the Americas in 1793, defeating first the French and then the British and American opportunists who hoped to take advantage of the new country. The Haitian revolution is put in context with those in America and France, and its significance is made clear as Rockwell connects Napoleon's defeat in Haiti with his willingness to sell French Louisiana to the United States. Christie's bold, naive gouache illustrations invoke Haiti's beauty and savage history. The scene of Toussaint preventing a fellow revolutionary from unnecessarily killing a white man and the rendering of the bleak French prison in which the hero died are particularly striking. Altogether, this is a beautiful and captivating portrait of a leader whose story will probably be unfamiliar to most youngsters. Written for an older audience than Walter Dean Myers's Toussaint L'Ouverture: The Fight for Haiti's Freedom (S & S, 1996), it is a welcome addition to biography and history collections.-Rebecca Donnelly, Loma Colorado Public Library, Rio Rancho, NM (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Born a slave, Toussaint L'Ouverture overcame ill health and used his considerable intellect to shape both his life and the future of his country. Nonetheless, L'Ouverture, liberator of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti),seems an unlikely subject for a children's biography. Distant both historically and geographically, hisstory revolves around bloodshed and betrayal. Rockwell keeps the narrative brisk, summarizing the plight of the slaves and their previous efforts to rebel and moving quickly to the battles, led by L'Ouverture, through which they finally won their freedom. While this fast pace helps readers avoid feeling bogged down by details, it may leave them somewhat confused, as apparently important individuals and events are mentioned only in passing. The denouement, L'Ouverture's surrender and death, also feels rushed, and his motivation, as Rockwell notes, remains unclear. Christie's stirring illustrations, including the cover painting of a triumphant L'Ouverture surrounded by his people, complement the dramatic tale but do not provide additional insight. While this introduction may pique the interest of some history buffs, it seems unlikely that it will find a wide audience. (Biography. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
