Juba

Juba by Walter Dean Myers, 201 pages

This is a fictionalized story about a real person.  Juba was a freeborn African American in the 1800s.  He grew up in New York and all he wanted to do was dance.  He was lucky enough to get a few breaks and actually was able to make a living doing what he loved, and became fairly well known in his time, especially in England.  Charles Dickens had seen him dance and written about him so many people were interested in Juba.  I really liked this story. I would probably call it a slice of life type of story, but kids who like historical fiction will probably enjoy it.