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Summary: Slave Dancer
Review: Until something big happens to Jessie, in the book Slave Dancer, by: Paula Fox, everything becomes a disaster. As soon as Jessie boards the Moonlight he meets the crew, the crew is extremely nice at first but after a while they became mean. Next the slaves board the ship,and that's when Jesse's job starts, he plays he's fife so the slaves can dance and keep them healthy for selling. Later the captain announces that there is an illness going around. Five men, two children and one woman die on the Moonlight from the illness. Jessie then meets his new slave, Ras. After months and months of harsh conditions there is a terrible storm. Jessie and Ras hide together and wait for the storm to pass. They came up from their hiding place and find everyone dead. The next thing they knew a man approached them. A man named is Daniel, feeds them, shelters them, and cloths them and after a couple of days, Ras was taken to the north, to live in freedom and peace. The old man packs Jessie up to walk home. Jessie walks for three days and finally enters to his home. I think the Slave Dancer was a really good book. It had everything a reader would want in a book. It was exceeding, sad, and scary. But it was the only book that had all those things. It was almost like you were there to see the action. There was dancing and singing in the book. So I hope you like it as much as I did.
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Summary: Great Compelling novel
Review: I recently read that when Mrs. Fox had accepted the Newbery award for this powerful novel that a small group of African Americans had protested outside the calling this book rascist. In my personal opinion, it is every author's right to record the way things were even if they do offend someone people, especially when writing a historical novel such as The Slave Dancer or Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry. And it gives me great pleasure to say that this group has persevered and rose above the tyrant which was called slavery
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Summary: A Powerful, Compelling Read
Review: I had to read this book as a school assignment as a sort of author study on Paula Fox. I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy it as much as "Monkey Island" (also by Paula Fox), but I did find it a very satisfying book. "The Slave Dancer" tells the story of Jessie Bullier, a 13 - year - old boy who lives with his mom and sister in a run - down, moldy shack in New Orleans. Right from the start you can tell that Jessie does not live a very charmed life. One day while at the docks, Jessie is kidnapped and brought aboard a slave ship called "Moonlight". He is introuced to an odd assortment of characters, among them Captain Cawthorne, Nicholas Spark, Ned Grime and Clay Purvis, who befriends Jesse throughout the four months or so he spends on the ship. Jessie is forced to "dance" the slaves with his fife. Towards the end he becomes friends with a slave named Ras. From here on you can probably guess what happens, but the last paragraph of the book makes for one of the eeriest endings in literary history. I suggest the purchase of this book. It is very good, and proves that Fox has a unique blend of creating intricate storytelling combined with adult - style phrases and language. Perfect.
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Summary: Hello cool This book is tight!
Review: This book was awarded the John Newbery Award in 1974, thisaward is for the most distinguished children's book published theprevious year. I chose the book The Slave Dancer By: Paula Fox. This book wasvery interesting to me. It is about a boy who is leading a normallife, and runs an errand for his mother. While he is gone, some sailors kidnap him. When he discovers where he is, it is too late. They have already taken him into the sea. He lives on a boat, which is used to transport slaves, as a ship boy for months. Jessie, the main character, is a good-hearted boy and has trouble being involved in the slave trade. At one point, he is beaten because of his compassion towards the future African slaves. Eventually most of the slaves die, he actually watches some of them be thrown overboard, both living and dead. In the end, the boat sinks, but Jessie and a little boy that he had bonded with earlier survive. However, this book truly hits home with many thoughts of racism today. The discussion of the slaves in general is very good for a child to hear. It portrays how the slaves were treated and how young innocent white boys were made to help in the torture of the slaves. When Jessie feels compassion towards them and is beaten for it, this explains a lot. The captain and others try to make Jessie feel hatred towards these African slaves. This is the way that many people were brought up. With these negative attitudes people have, many of them are raising their children the same way. I think that Paula Fox did a wonderful job of portraying this idea. I looked at this book as a "book people" book. The book is telling the truth in every way possible. It uses great detail in describing some of the events. It even gets gory in some parts. Not many children's books do this, and get by with it. It actually has a Grimm brothers sort of approach. Fox tells things the way they were; she does not "soften" them up for the children. The other side, however, would say the book was not fit for children due to the gore of it and even some language. In an article written by Sarah Hinlicky entitled "Don't Write About Race", she discusses the topic of race in writing, including children's literature. Hinlicky gives many good reasons why people don't write about racial issues. Hinlicky says that one of the main reasons is fear. She says that "the wise writer observes the rules and politely declines to write about race." This keeps them from being tortured and ridiculed for writing about racial issues. In the end of the article she proposes a very powerful statement: Black America and white America are different cultures, these cultures still distrust one another. Moving across color lines also means moving across culture lines...Maybe there's an answer I've found, but I think I'd better quit now, since I'm not supposed to be writing about race in the first place. This statement is important in saying how people think they aren't supposed to discuss the topic. I think it is almost challenging for people to look at it in Hinlicky's light. I think I take a book people stand. Children need to know the truth in the history of acts such as this. They cannot keep the truth from the children, or that will lead to children who have racial tension. Many children today are misinformed of this part of history. Both black children and white children are confused with their facts in this matter. (.....)I loved this book because it kept me interestered from beginning to end with all the plots and detials in it. This was truly a great book! END
Rating: 
Summary: The Unsatisfied
Review: I read this book thinking that it would be an epic. I was very wrong. I give it two stars so that it can claim it's dignity, but I will not be as easily swayed in this review. As I read, I felt that it was all playing up to something, something huge! But at the end it was like a bad movie... like the director got tired. If you wish read a multicultural book read Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry, or My Brother Sam is Dead. Do not read this book!
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Summary: The Slave Dancer
Review: The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox is a wonderful book. It is full of excitement and adventure! The story is set in New Orleans. Jessie, the main character, gets kidnapped and is put on a pirate ship to live on for several months. Of course, he gets scared and home-sick, but after a while he gets used to it. As you meet the captian, and the slaves, and the crew, it seems like YOU are on the ship sailing on a endless plain of water. This book has so much excitment to it no wonder it won a Newbery Medal!!
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Summary: The Slave Dancer
Review: Shhhhhh! Paula
The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox describes American slave trading, and usage of ethnic slurs toward Africans. This language is inappropriate for any reader that has not reached the adult age. The book refers to African's in a derogatory manner; niggers, blacks. The author's point of view is merely stating a scenario that could have been presented in more respectful fashion toward the African American Community. It develops a plot that describes cruel behaviors toward our African bothers and sisters. Paula's intensions are to describe how Africans were unfairly treated but the selections of words are of no use in today's youth.
The descriptions of some of the scenes are quite clear and promote sorrow. The book describes scenes in which slaves are treated as baggage and not considered human. It is ignorant to refer towards another human being utilizing ethnic slurs. Smith a crewmember says, "It's hard to make a profit - the insurance ain't so easy to collect" in this scene the protagonist, Jessie is asking why the slaves need to dance (Fox 66). Smith is explaining that the slaves need to exercise to keep healthy. Slavery is merely a mistake that hinders the history of America. It is just wrong to teach bad morals.
The United States enforces freedom from ethnic tension. Americans want to make ethnic slurs as eradicated to young readers who do not need to be exposed to such derogatory cruelty. Early in life exposure to these ethnic slurs is of no use to a young readers, who is trying to cope with the everyday peer pressures of life and school. This book promotes an anti-social ethnic border by using an ethnic slur.
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Summary: Easy reading for those who might best benefit from it
Review: A mid-70's Newbery winner, and a gem. With Out of the Dust, and Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, the very finest Newbery has to offer in historical fiction. The reading level may be late elementary or early middle school, but the content calls for later middle school or high school. The details of abducting and carrying slaves, their treatment at the hands of their transporters, the crude and often cruel behavior of the ship's crew, and the horrors of shipboard life make the themes tough for sensitive younger readers. It will provide a young reader with a thoroughly unsettling look at an unseemly part of American history. The main character, the white boy kidnapped from the streets of New Orleans in 1840 to play his fife to encourage the slaves to dance, is a good, clear, child's view of things, properly aghast and open-minded, the pleasant part of the story and its first person teller. What Slave Dancer gives is brilliant in its clarity and horror. I recommend it highly with the caveats above.
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Summary: The Slave Dancer
Review: The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox, is an extraordinarily good book. One day, a boy named Jessie is snatched from a street and taken aboard a slave ship. There, he's forced to play his fife (or flute) for the slaves so they can dance and stay in shape. While on board The Moonlight, Jessie sees the cruelty shown towards the slaves. On this voyage, his perception changes about many things; slaves, Purvis (a member of the crew), and himself. With a great conclusion that tops off this masterpiece, you will feel satisfied and not disappointed or let down.
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Summary: Unforgettable
Review: This is a great book. However, it is not for the faint of heart! As a parent of two younger children I am not sure that I would want my ten year old daughter to read this book. The Slave Dancer is the story of a thirteen year old New Orleans boy who is kidnapped and forced to work on a slave ship. This book really made me feel like I was there, watching the pain and agony that surrounded Jessie. I heartily recommend this book for teenagers and adults interested in historical fiction. This book certainly deserved the Newbery Medal in my opinion. I simply couldn't put the book down and finished it in one day. One final caveat, don't read this book if you only like stories where everyone lives happily ever after. This book is about real life, pain and sorrow, grief and rage. But also about friendship, honesty, and courage. To any adults reading this, don't let the kids have all the good stuff. Read this book for yourself; it stacks up favorably against the best of adult fiction.
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