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| Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s American Heroes: Robert Smalls, the Boat Thief (American Heroes) | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert F., Jr. Kennedy
Creator: Patrick Faricy
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $9.95
You Save: $7.04 (41%)
New (32) Used (7) from $9.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 18395
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 48
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.7 x 0.6
ISBN: 1423108027
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9781423108023
ASIN: 1423108027
Publication Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
On a moonlit night in the spring of 1862, six slaves stole one of the Confederacy's most crucial gunships from its wharf in the South Carolina port of Charleston, and delivered it to the Federal Navy. This audacious and intricately coordinated escape, masterminded by a 24-year-old sailor named Robert Smalls, astonished the world and exploded the Confederate claim that Southern slaves did not crave freedom or have the ability to take decisive action. Robert Smalls's heroic career had only begun. A brilliant sailor and strategist, he was quickly promoted to the rank of captain in the Federal Navy where he served courageously in many critical battles. Not only was Smalls a great soldier, he was also a powerful activist, whose appeal to Abraham Lincoln convinced the president to enlist 5,000 former slaves, shattering the color barrier that had kept black men out of the service. Smalls drew great crowds as an eloquent public speaker, and his outstanding character inspired the broad public support that encouraged Lincoln to ratify the Emancipation Proclamation. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tells the story of another great American hero, a man who did not flinch in the face of extraordinary dangers--a man whose dedication to the cause of freedom made him one the most important participants in the American Civil War.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Robert Smalls, the Boat Thief November 2, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very thin book. Not worth the money. A poor gift. If you give it as a gift you'll look cheap.
 Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children October 4, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
As a young slave in Beaufort, South Carolina, Robert Smalls worked in the McKee house with his mother, who regularly reminded him of the harsh conditions she had experienced as a field slave and the brutal treatment of other slaves in Beaufort. These lessons deepened Robert's hatred of slavery and his longing for freedom. When Robert was twelve, Henry McKee hired Robert out in Charleston for various jobs, including waiter, lamplighter, and stevedore. Robert's reputation as a hard worker with excellent technical abilities led to a position sailing a merchant schooner along the Georgia and Carolina coasts.
Over time, Robert married and had two children, but because the legal system required Robert to turn almost all his wages over to McKee, the dream of buying his family's freedom remained elusive. With the start of the Civil War, Robert found new work as a deckhand, and later pilot, on a large Confederate transport ship named the Planter. Robert ingeniously used this opportunity to strengthen his navigational skills, gain the confidence of the white officers, and learn the assorted coded whistle signals for passing by the check points in Charleston Harbor. With this training intact and family members on board, Robert and his crew commandeered the Planter across the harbor in May of 1862, delivered the ship to the Federal Navy, and celebrated their newfound freedom.
The book's carefully-written text and stunning illustrations pay tribute to a courageous man who became one of the biggest heroes of the Civil War. The book also emphasizes Robert Smalls' subsequent work fighting for social justice while serving in the South Carolina state legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. Smalls wound up spending most of his life advocating for the end of institutionalized discrimination and the right for blacks to vote, hold office, attend public school, and join the military. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., known for his environmental activism, has made another valuable contribution by putting the inspiring story of Robert Smalls into the spotlight and making it accessible to young readers.
Surprised by too many inaccuracies but still worth reading . . . October 2, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I received my fresh copy of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s new book, Robert Smalls: The Boat Thief, in the mail today. I was thrilled to read it.
My comments and criticisms do not take away from the reality that Kennedy has essentially got the basic story right, but the flaws in the book and the story as told, reduces the power of the fuller story as I will show in this review.
Overall, I'm delighted this book is in print and I'd recommend it for reading for grades 4th-6th, with the below-listed reservations.
In full-disclosure, I have been seriously researching the Robert Smalls story for eight years so some of my critiques might seem a little picks. You be the judge.
First, on the positive side, it is beautifully illustrated. Patrick Faricy did an excellent job. There are roughly 15 illustrations, mostly in color.
But there are several downsides to this book that need to be corrected if it is published in a second edition.
First, the publisher's web site says the book is intended for an audience of ages 8-12. That would be grades one through fifth. I'd disagree. It is more appropriate for grades 4th - 6th.
Are words like "audacious, stereotypes, precariousness, astern, archipelagos, fusillade" aimed at the lower elementary grades?
The story might appeal to grades 1-5 but the language reading level is way beyond what the average 1st through 3rd grader could comprehend.
Compared to other resources on Smalls aimed at children (i.e., Seven Miles to Freedom, Halfmann; and Robert Smalls Sails to Freedom, Brown) Kennedy's book is clearly better aimed at upper elementary grades.
Second, the author quotes Smalls as saying, "damned sight" (p. 21). Not only is the quote not historically true, why add an expletive into the narrative if it's aimed at the lower elementary ages?
Third, there are several inaccurate facts or statements in the book.
The author says that Robert (as a young boy) watched "slaves being whipped in the streets" in Beaufort. The truth is Robert only told of seeing one whipping in his youth at Beaufort. It was at the arsenal yard. The exaggeration is not needed to make the author's point.
Kennedy states that Robert was married to Hannah Jones in 1858 (p.3). In fact he was married on December 24, 1856 in Beaufort [see Billingsley p. 45]. Thus the author also gets the year of their first child - Elizabeth - wrong. His text implies it would have been 1859. In fact, she was born February 12, 1858. The correct date of marriage is important because the incorrect 1858-date is oft-repeated in secondary literature about Smalls.
Again, perhaps too picky, but the author states (p. 6) that the evening before the escape the black crew loaded the Planter with "six guns". To be accurate there were two guns already on the boat and so the crew would have only loaded four. Does it change the essence of the story? No? Is it more historically faithful? Yes.
Kennedy says that the ship's white officers were "court-marshalled, fined and imprisoned" (p. 16). In fact, only one prison sentence was meted out by the justice system, and yet all the convictions of the white crew were over-turned before an official prison sentence was served. In other words, they essentially got off scott-free under the Confederate justice courts.
Fourth, there are omissions that would have made the story richer. For example, Kennedy does not inform the reader that Lydia (Robert's mother) and Robert were from the Gullah culture in the Sea Islands of South Carolina.
Fifth, Kennedy mis-states the nature of regarding Smalls's promotion to Captain (pp. 21-24) . The biggest problem is that author suggests that Smalls was an official Captain of the U.S. Navy, as the Captain of the Planter. This might be hair-splitting but to due justice to the true story Smalls never got his fair-due as an official (i.e., on paper and documented) Captain of the Planter or for the U.S. Navy.
Smalls was black and denied that official designation and honor. Does that take anything away from the essential story either? No. But the more complete picture reveals how Smalls continued to serve with honor and distinction without having the appropriate and deserved respect of his peers and government.
Another correction to be noted is that Kennedy says that the action involving Smalls's 'promotion' to Captain took place in May 1863 (p.21). That is incorrect. It was in December 1863.
Perhaps being a little too picky, Kennedy could have added that the name of the McKee plantation Lydia worked on was called Ashdale, and that Robert was known as a house servant called 'Swonga'. Not major omissions but would have added some color and an opportunity for a teacher to expand on these facts in the classroom.
I apologize for being so nit-picky but since I love this story so much and desire for the entire truth to be known about the Smalls Civil War escape, I feel it is important to bring these points to one's attention.
I still plan on buying several copies and donating them to the elementary school libraries in my county in middle Tennessee.
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