This engaging historical novel is based on the true story of the meteoric rise of an immensely talented young black dancer, William Henry Lane, who influenced today's tap, jazz, and step dancing. With meticulous and intensive research, Walter Dean Myers has brought to life Juba's story.
A nice, short, historical-fiction read about the life of William Henry Lane, or Juba, a young African-American man who loved dance and wanted to practice it as an art form. Though his life is short, it is fascinating and I was surprised I hadn't heard of him before picking up this book, especially since he caught the attention of Charles Dickens and was even mentioned by Dickens in one of his books, "American Notes."
Myers really captured the spirit and passion of Juba for dance and for making more out of his life through art. It was interesting to trace Juba's path through various productions and see him grow and yet still not make it as big as he should have. There is some really important discussion of race in early America. One of Juba's friends, who is a free African-American, gets captured and sold back into slavery. Juba is continuously confronted by his skin color and often asked to "coon it up" when he dances because that is the expected idea of what an African-American is like, that is what the audience wants to see. This would be a good school read, I think, to show a particular slice of American history and to teach about race relations in America.
All in all, it was very illuminating and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in African-American history and to anyone who is not familiar enough with African-American history. This is a very important read, in my opinion. Please give it a look.
No comments:
Post a Comment