Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley

A fictionalized biography of the 18th-century African woman who, as a child, was brought to New England to be a slave, and after publishing her first poem when a teenager, gained renown throughout the colonies as an important black American poet. Kidnapped from her home in Senegal and sold as a slave in 1761, a young girl is purchased by the wealthy Wheatley family in Boston. Phillis Wheatley--as she comes to be known--has an eager mind and it leads her on an unusual path for a slave--she becomes America's first published black poet. Strong characterization and perceptive realism mark this thoughtful portrayal.--Booklist