Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man by Tonya Bolden (review)

Lots of children know the early parts of Frederick Douglass' story, the easy to relate parts, the parts that condense neatly onto a monument: self-educated slave, runaway, abolitionist. Bolden yanks the monumental man off his pedestal and lets him hit his own stride—as a husband who wouldn't win any prizes for 21st-century helpmate; as an anti-slavery crusader who exited the speaker circuit when it cramped his message; as a businessman who often fell short of success; as a guy who took a long time to settle on how to part his hair. Most importantly, Bolden excels at presenting just how difficult it was for a black man, who was always in imminent danger of losing his own freedom, to be an abolitionist, and he was often at odds with fellow abolitionists over the road map. Should immediate or gradual progress be the aim? Should abolition come with or without reparations to slaveowners? Is the movement demanding or selling out women's suffrage? Is it nonviolent or violent? After emancipation, what happens when support dries up from former allies who now consider the job done? Bolden's signature narrative style, concise and controlled but with a dashes of storyteller panache, allows the big issues to flow easily among the biographical details, making this a strong choice for middle school readers ready to tackle some historical complexity. A timeline, notes, a list of selected sources, an index, and illustrations (including a dozen portrait photographs of Douglass) are included. EB