The Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition

by Karen Zeinert

Public Library
Lasting Connections 1997 list, Book Links
Elementary School Library Collection, 21st ed.
A CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center) Choice 1997

"Offers young readers an engrossing account of the shipboard rebellion and its dramatic aftermath [and] skillfully delineates the odd cast of characters who became involved in the Amistad trials. . . . Young readers will learn much . . . for Zeinert expertly sketches the national context regarding slavery, outlining, for example, the combination of economic, racial and nationalist reasons most Americans of the period opposed slavery." —New York Times Sunday Book Review (8/31/97)

"Reads like an exciting adventure tale, while it carefully weaves in facts about West African culture, the slave trade, and American pre-Civil War politics. . . . [A] fine title." —Booklist (7/97)

About the Author

Karen Zeinert has taught English and history at the middle school and high school levels, and has written articles for Cobblestone, Cricket, and other youth magazines and many books. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband John, a high school history teacher, and enjoys gardening, travel, and sketching in her spare time.

Other books by Karen Zeinert include

• Across the Plains in the Donner Party
• The Memoirs of Andrew Sherburne
• Captured by Indians: The Life of Mary Jemison
• Tragic Prelude: Bleeding Kansas

Teachers: See The Amistad Revolt: "All We Want Is Make Us Free," a video which works well in the classroom with this title. For our list of books about the African American experience, click here.