''Let My People Go: Bible Stories Told by a Freeman of Color'' is a 1998 book by

Patricia McKissack Patricia C. McKissack (''née'' Carwell; August 9, 1944 – April 7, 2017) was a prolific African-American children's writer. She was the author of more than 100 books, including Dear America books '' A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a ...

. Set in 19th century South Carolina, it is about a

freed slave A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

, Price Jeffries, who uses

Bible stories The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

to answer questions that his daughter, Charlotte, poses about the things she sees around her.

Reception

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'', in its review of ''Let My People Go'', called it "stirring" and concluded, "With the rhythm and intimacy of the oral tradition, this is storytelling for family and group sharing and also for talking about history and our connections with the universals of the Old Testament." ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'' found it "A masterful combination of Bible stories and African-American history." ''Let My People Go'' has also been reviewed by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', ''

The Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietors of t ...

''. ''Library Media Connection'', ''Multicultural Review'', and ''

Parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biologica ...

''.

Awards

*1998 Capital Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens *1998 CCBC Choice *2000 Anne Izard Storytellers' Award - winner

References

{{reflist 1998 children's books American children's novels Children's historical novels Novels based on the Bible Novels set in the 19th century Novels set in South Carolina Christian children's books Books by Patricia McKissack 1998 American novels Atheneum Books books Children's books based on the Bible Children's books set in South Carolina Children's books set in the 19th century