CaldecottThe Cat Man of Aleppo
Caldecott Medal Honor
Book · Young Adult
African Town
inspired by the true story of the last American slave ship
by Irene Latham and Charles Waters
Honors
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About the book
In 1860, decades after the United States outlawed bringing enslaved people into the country, a ship called the Clotilda carried 110 captives from the Kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa to Mobile, Alabama, to win a wager. African Town follows them through the Middle Passage, years of enslavement and the end of the Civil War, to the free community they built for themselves outside Mobile. Irene Latham and Charles Waters tell the story as a novel in verse, moving among fourteen voices, the ship's own among them, and drawing on many poetic forms. Back matter includes an authors' note, a timeline and a glossary. Written for teen readers, the book won the 2023 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.
For parents
Ages 12–18 · Grades 7–12
Depicts capture in Africa, the Middle Passage and the brutality of enslavement in the American South. The publisher recommends it for ages 12 and up.
Content notes
- Violence
- Mature themes
More by Irene Latham
- Caldecott