The Freedom of Jenny

By Julie Burtinshaw

Jenny Estes shares her father s dream of freedom. But for Jenny born into slavery in Missouri in the 1840s freedom seems an impossible dream. She toils alongside her mother in the steaming kitchen of the Leopold plantation, trying her best to be humble and obedient so that Mrs. Leopold won t sell her to a slave-trader. But when she's not drying dishes or mixing biscuits, Jenny finds time to practice her reading, a skill that ultimately helps the family plan their migration and realize their dream. The Estes face a formidable journey: a grueling passage from Missouri to Saltspring Island, Canada. Along the way, Jenny s family confronts scarlet fever, racial persecution, the arduous Oregon Trail, warring native Haidas, and finally, the challenges of homesteading. Jenny s spirit and fortitude in the face of many adversities make her a heroine all young readers can look up to. Based on a true story, this tale is a gripping account of one young girl's coming-of-age in troubling and unsettling times."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1551928396
• ISBN13: 9781551928395
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Raincoast Books
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 0.3" x 5.0"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 7

Customer Reviews

An engagingly original and nicely crafted tale of self discovery

Julie Burtinashaw's novel, The Freedom Of Jenny, is the story of Jenny Estes, a young daughter of a ex-slaves and Madagascar natives, and her family's quest to live in California. As the family realization that California is not so much the better life they had expected, The Freedom Of Jenny carries the tattered family even further north to Canada's Salt Spring Island as Jenny's responsibilities involve the whole family. An engagingly original and nicely crafted tale of self discovery, The Freedom Of Jenny is recommended as a work of entreating fiction with historically accurate occurrences as one young woman and her family strive for a new life.