Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons The Story of Phillis Wheatley by Ann Rinaldi

Celebrity or Slave?

Kidnapped from her home in Senegal and sold as a slave in 1761, a young girl is purchased by the wealthy Wheatley family in Boston. Phillis Wheatley--as she comes to be known--has an eager mind and knack for learning that leads her on an unusual path for a slave. When the Wheatleys discover Phillis's talent for writing poetry, they begin to mold her future by having her "perform" for influential guests. Eventually she is sent to England, where her work is finally published--the first book of poetry by an African American woman.

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