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Summary: A Great Book for Teens, Enjoyable Reading
Review: Are you deciding which books your 8th, 9th, or 10th grade students should read? I highly recommend this book. I found my students highly engaged with it. I found that for my African-American students it was a real release, in a sense, for understanding a difficult period of American history. It brought to light many observations I found true in my travels around the world - like Europeans finding "Black" Americans to be more American than "White" Americans. I had no trouble getting all my students, of all races, engaged in this highly readable book that introduces, without pain, some valuable vocabulary. This book is great for increasing racial understanding and tolerance, because it increases an understanding of our history. This understanding is much more effective than directly saying "we must have racial harmony", this book shows the history that should naturally unite us and does so in subtle ways, as it is anything but preachy. A history that is not all rosy, but definitly places Blacks squarely as Americans, and not some foriegn entity - which for 8th-10th grade students - is often not a self-evident thing. I would be the first to criticize a book that was introduced just because it was "multi-cultural" for its own sake. This book serves many useful functions and raises many interesting questions, including of a philosophical nature. I had fun with it. Students, of all races, I found, couldn't put this book down; however, it was the Black girls that most fell in love with it. There are beatiful subplots, in this book, of romance and of coming of age that our curriculum should focus on, as 8th-10th graders find this most interesting. If the choice was between "To Kill a Mockingbird" and this book I would much rather chose this. Part of "To Kill a Mockingbird's" success is that young people, these days, find it difficult to relate to as a book that is suposed to build racial bridges. It is more of a book for whites, of a past generation, to convince them to accept blacks as equals. "Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons" serves a much better function today and is written for all races.
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Summary: This was the BEST!! book i have ever read!!!!!!!!!
Review: This was probably the best book I have ever read. The only thing I didn't like was the ending it was sad but it was the truth, the author wanted to make it as real as she could. Once I picked up this book I literally didn't put it down until I was done, I highly recomend this book to any reader, young and old.
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Summary: Among the top of Ann Rinaldi's Work
Review: Ann Rinaldi has done it again, written a great book! As you read it you are filled with the same emotions the characters are going through and cant wait to read more. You have to make sure you have a little time when you first get the book to read about her voyage to America. And make sure you try all of Ann Rinaldi's other books!
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Summary: Hang a Thousand Trees With Ribbons by Ann Rinaldi
Review: Phillis Wheatley a struggling poet , was bougt by John Wheatleyin 1761. In her new home, she wasn't taught to read or write . Lateron, she was very curious of learning so she was told to write a lot,but she wasn't treated equal . Philli's goes through hardships likebelonging to white nor color group.Philli's goes through so muchstress that she reads and write to free herself. The book talksaboundly about colonial life. It made me feel like I was living incolonial life time too. Her family made a campaign to get Phillispoetry published.Will Mrs. Wheatley help Phillis published before it'stoo late.Did they consider her a serious poet or a plaything? Was itthe era for a young color girl to write poetry? ....
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Summary: Love Doesn't Conquer All
Review: The life long yearning for an unattainable man, unlike what Hollywood would have you believe, does not always end happily, as the main character in Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons, could explain. Ann Rinaldi's thrilling historical fiction novel about the life of the famous balck poet, Phillis Wheatley, shows the maturation of Phillis from a young girl captured in her homeland of Africa and sold as a slave in America to a lovely young lady with a published poetry book. Upon first viewing of the only son in her new family, Phillis develops very loving feelinds towards Nathaniel Wheatley, and the two form a very special relationship, all the time Nathaniel oblivious to her feelings. Everyone, except for the object of her desire, understood and warned Phillis that nothing would come of the crush, but Phillis refused to believe this. Her belief that love would overcome all the racial barriers which separated her from Nathaniel was brought down. Nathaniel, who became a very wealthy merchant, married a beautiful young English woman. Phillis was heart broken, but eventually overcame her hurt and found new happiness in her life. Throughout this book, the reader goes through every one of Phillis' emotions with her, and anyone who believes in the statement "Love conquers all", should not read this book unless they pepare themselves to be disappointed at the end results. Although not finding the love she was looking for, Phillis did find love and the ending of the book is not unhappy, even though the desired events do not take place.
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Summary: I liked it
Review: I read this this summer for a reading assignment, and it was actually pretty good. This is the story of the poet, Phillis Wheatley's life, except that it's fiction. It tells from when she was captured in Africa 'till her marriage. A lot of the story was mostly fictional, but their were some facts. It will hold your attention for a while. I read it in two days. Usually I don't like reading anything that has to do with history, but this was an exception.
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Summary: A great story!
Review: This was one of my favorite books by Ann Rinaldi. I've always liked all of her books because they're well written historical fiction, which is my favorite type of book. But this, in not so many words lets say this took the cake. From the first page, you love the heroine. You love the story, you love all the characters. (at least, the ones you're supposed to love) This is a truly good book and whatever preference you have towards books, set it down and read this one. I gaurantee you'll like it. Alot of work and research obviously went into this book and the entire plot runs smoothly. Its worth the money. :)
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Summary: A Great Book
Review: Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons is a Great Book.It is a story about the Phillis Wheatley, an African poet. Who was kidnapped from her haome in Senegal and sold as a slave in 1761. She was purchsaed by a wealthy merchant family in Boston. Young Nathaniel Wheatley takes Phillis under his wing and educates her. When the Wheatleys discover her talent for writing, the family coaxwes her to perform for infuentil guests, their first stp in their efforts to have Phillis's poetry published. Unsuccessful in finding an American publisher bold enough to publish a Negro woman's poetry, Nathaniel and Phillis sail to England in 1773, where Phillis becomes the toast of London society, and where her poems are published, the first book of poetry by an American Negro woman. I liked this book alot and I think you will to. But it is sort of sad in some parts in the book. I really, really hope this review helped in thinking about buying or not buying this book, but I stroughly suggest you do buy this book because I can ausuer you you will like it. Bye, andrea*harris
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Summary: You Can Do Anything!
Review: Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons is an excellent book by Ann Rinaldi. It was the first book I had ever read by Ann Rinaldi, and it gave me a wonderful first impression of her. She is definately a gifted author! Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons is the story of a slave woman named Phyllis Wheatly. Her master's son, Nathaniel, teaches her how to read, and she discovers she is a wonderful poet. Mrs. Wheatly wants Phyllis' work published, but nobody but the Wheatlys are positive it is her work. She must answer questions before a court before the work can be published. But there is another plot line to this story: Freedom! Although Phyllis has everything she wants, she still wants one more thing- her freedom. This is a wonderful lesson about what we want and what we have. And a wonderful novel about a slave girl in the 1770's- a gifted poet, and believed in by everyone around her. This story is a great inspiration to those of us who think we can't do the impossible- we can!
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Summary: History made interesting!
Review: As an 8th grade US History teacher, I find this book a great way to teach about both an individual (Phillis Wheatley) and a specific time period. This biography is well-researched and makes learning about slavery and the revolutionary war a great addition to the history textbook. Phillis Wheatley endures great pain in her young life first being sold as a slave and then spending most of her life proving herself - simply because she is black. At first her goal is to please Nathanial Wheatley whom she adores, but later she comes to terms with learning about herself and where she fits in a world where being black affords very few opportunities. Along with a book of Phillis Wheatley's poems, this is a wonderful book to use in a US History classroom from a variety of perspectives - the slavery issue, African American history, and women's studies.
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