Summary

"Come join me as I take you back to Charleston, South Carolina, to my father's forge in the early 1800's. Sit with me on the woodpile as he tells a tale of faith, hope, or love."In this extraordinary collection, Charlotte Jefferies and her father Price, a former slave, introduce us to twelve best loved Bible tales, from Genesis to Daniel, and reveal their significance in the lives of African Americans--and indeed of all oppressed peoples.When Charlotte wants to understand the cruel injustices of her time, she turns to her father.Does the powerful slaveholder, Mr. Sam Riley, who seems to own all that surrounds them, also own the sun and moon?she wonders. Price's answer is to tell the story of Creation.How can God allow an evil like slavery to exist?she asks. Price responds by telling the story of the Hebrews' Exodus -- and shows Charlotte that someday their people, too, will be free.With exquisite clarity, Patricia and Fredrick McKissack and James Ransome -- a Newbery Honor winner and all Coretta Scott King Award winners -- brilliantly illuminate the parallels between the stories of the Jews and African-American history.Let My People Gois a triumphant celebration of both the human spirit and the enduring power of story as a source of strength.Our hope is that this book will be like a lighthouse that can guide young readers through good times and bad....The ideas that these ancient stories hold are not for one people, at one time, in one place. They are for all of us, for all times, everywhere.--from the Authors' Note toLet My People Go

Author Biography

Patricia C. and Frederick L. McKissack, Sr. are the co-authors of such highly acclaimed books as the Coretta Scott King Award winners Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters, and A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter. In addition to eleven religious children's books, Patricia C. McKissack is the author of numerous award-winning books for children including the 1989 Newbery Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award winner The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural and Caldecott Honor Book Mirandy and Brother Wind. A former editor of religious books for children, she was given the Helen Keating Ott Award, offered by the Church and Synagogue Librarian's Association, for her outstanding contribution to children's religious publishing. The McKissacks are also the recipients of the Catholic Library Association's Regina Award for lifetime achievement in children's books. They live in Chesterfield, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

Contents

Authors' Note

Illustrator's Note

Charlotte's Introduction

Something Wonderful Out of Nothing
The Creation

Making Choices
The Fall and Cain and Abel

The Big Water
Noah and the Flood

A Love Worth Waiting For
Jacob and Rachel

How Can You Forgive?
The Story of Joseph

God Will Not Hold With Wrong
Moses and the Exodus

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Excerpts

From Chapter To Slay a Giant

But thou hast saved us from our enemies,

and hast put them to shame that hated us.

In God we boast all the day long,

and praise thy name for ever."

The boy took careful aim and rushed toward the giant. He let the stone fly.Swoooooooh!It hit Goliath square in the middle of his forehead.

Goliath shook from head to toe, blinked his eyes, and keeled over like a rootless tree. Quickly, David rushed for a sword and chopped off the giant's head.

The Philistines scattered like snakes fleeing from fire when they saw that a mere boy had defeated the best among them.

Word spread quickly that David had killed the Philistine giant. The Israelites loved him and sang songs 'bout him. But David gave God the glory.

David the shepherd boy was a natural-born leader who would go on to become one of the greatest kings of Israel. During his long and glorious life, he had to slay many giants that loomed tall in the form of big, big troubles and great mistakes. How did he do it? Hear King David's voice, singing to us from the ages:

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the

counsel of the ungodly,

nor standeth in the way of sinners,

nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord;

and in his law doth he mediate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree, planted by

the river water,

that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;

his leaf also shall not wither

and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper...

the way of the ungodly shall perish."

Excerpted from Let My People Go: Bible Stories Told by a Freeman of Color by Patricia C. McKissack, Fredrick L. McKissack
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.