Jalani and the Lock

Title: Jalani and the Lock

Author: Dr. Lorenzo Pace

Illustrator: Dr. Lorenzo Pace

Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group- http://www.rosenpublishing.com/

Publication Date: 2001

Genre: Nonfiction

Audience: Pre K - 2

Award: Skipping Stone Honor Award

Overview: Jalani is a young African boy who disobeys his mothers warning and goes to play in the woods. He gets kidnapped by a strange man and shipped off to America in locks and chains. He gets little food and works all day and has no playtime. Years later, a man in a tall hat ended slavery. Jalani kept the lock and key that kept him in slavery and passed it on to his son and told him to pass it on to his son.

Activity: This book could be a great introduction to a history lesson about slavery. This could help teach the issue of slavery to young children and get it across in a less harsh way. It is a perfect leeway into a lesson on civil rights and or slavery.

Reviewer's Name: Gina DeBartolome