Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Book Review: Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons


Every once in a while, I love to pick up a picture book.  I believe that everyone should!  Picture books tell a story in both words and illustrations and every once in a while, you'll learn something new.  I had an opportunity to read an e-ARC, which also happened to be a non-fiction picture book!

Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons is a fascinating story told by Gwendolyn Hooks and illustrated by Simone Agoussoye.  The story follows the life of Ona Judge, one of George and Martha Washington’s slaves, who managed to escape her life of slavery and risked her life to find freedom. 

This insightful book brought to light a story few have heard before.  Gwendolyn Hooks writes the story in a manner for the age group it is intended for (ages 9-10).  It is just short enough to keep the reader engaged and full of information that should be easy enough for a middle grade reader to comprehend.

My only issue with this book was the illustrations.  The cover of the book has a beautiful illustration of Ona Judge.  I was extremely disappointed to see that the illustrations inside the book were completely different.  Inside the book, the illustrations looked flat and lacked the same kind of depth as the cover.  Being a non-fiction picture book for middle grades, I believe that the illustrations should help tell the story and in this case, it was only a distraction for me. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

No comments: