Ella Mae and her friends who are slaves, listen outside of their Masters home each night. One night, Ella Mae hears news that may set slaves free. I enjoyed reading this book. The authors description of Ella Mae secretly listening to find out whats to come in her life made me think of the times, as a child that I have overheard adults talking and the anxiety of not completely understanding what was going on, only knowing that it would affect me in some way. ( )

This book was about slaves working on a cotton. The children would go hide by the house to listen to what the white owners would say about what was going on with the presidential campaign. This book was the start of the ending of slavery when Lincoln became president and the whites were mad and the slaves were excited. ( )

This story is about a family that are slaves. It is told from the point of view of the oldest of the three kids named Ella May. Every night the three kids sneak to the masters house and snoop outside the window so they can listen for information. As quoted in the book "We children listen and carry the news back to our folks." One night they hear that Ella May's daddy may be sold to another man, but the master decides not to sell him, and she's very relieved. Another night they hear that there's a new president named Abraham Lincoln, and everyone is happy when they bring that news because he is against slavery and talks of freeing them. The children are to told to keep listening to see how they're going to be freed. The author Gloria Whelan was born November 23, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. She got her education at the University of Michigan. I would recommend this book to others because it gives intersting insight into the lives of children that was enslaved. ( )

I really enjoyed this story about the lives of young slaves and their many tasks. As many historical fiction stories are, this picture book was about strength and hope. The first thing I noticed about this story that mesmerized me was the imagery. Almost every line incorporates some kind of imagery that engages the reader. For example, while the children listen to the masters, the author writes, "We make ourselves small as cotton seeds and quiet as shadows." Something else I really like about this picture book is its authenticity. Most stories are written in Standard English because that is what is encouraged in schools, but this picture book portrays the dialect of most of these children since they were not allowed to be educated. For example the main character says, "we got to listen." This simple choice makes the story more authentic and real to the reader. ( )

Very interesting (I had no idea about the listeners) and I love the illustrations, except for people's faces--don't really like how those are done. But the landscapes are so beautiful. ( )