Fall 2024

Freedom Braids

  • Interest Level: Kindergarten - Grade 3
  • Reading Level: Grade 2

Gather the midnight strands,
tend the roots that gave you life,
weave hopes into pathways—
paths that lead you home.


Day after day, Nemy sows seeds, pulls weeds, and strips leaves in the sugarcane plantation where she is enslaved. But one night, she follows a woman called Big Mother to a hidden shack. There, she finds a group of women braiding each other’s hair. But these are no ordinary braids. Hidden in each elaborate pattern is a secret—a message signaling their intent to flee and a map to guide them in their escape. Will the paths these courageous women weave bring Nemy to a new home where she can be free?

A picture book of love, liberation, and legacy inspired by the true story of enslaved African women in Colombia braiding maps to freedom.

Format Your Price Add
978-1-915244-80-2
$14.24
978-1-915244-82-6
$23.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% off list price on hardcovers and ebooks when you buy direct! Digital purchases will be accessed on Lerner Digital Bookshelf. An account will be created for you after purchase.
Interest Level Kindergarten - Grade 3
Reading Level Grade 2
Genre Picture Books
Category Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity, SEL: B Self-Management, SEL: C Social Awareness, SEL: D Relationship Skills, SEL: E Responsible Decision-Making, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2024
Publisher Lantana Publishing
Imprint Lantana Publishing
Language English
Number of Pages 32
Publication Date 2024-09-10
Text Type Fiction
BISACS JUV016010, JUV011010, JUV048000
Dewey [E]
Dimensions 10 x 10
Guided Reading Level S
Features Author/Illustrator note, Awards, Original artwork, Reviewed, Teaching Guides, and eSource

Awards

  • 2024 Cybils Finalist, Winner, 2024
  • 2024 Black Kidlit Award, Winner, 2024

Reviews

Booklist Online

“Told in simple, often lyrical language and enriched with an author’s note and end papers filling in details about the hidden meanings of the braids, this will be a welcome addition to elementary social studies and history units.”—Booklist Online

The New York Times

“Moses’ digitally rendered art . . . regenerates pain as a glow that leads Nemy to ‘a new dawn.’ . . . Nemy’s story leaves us to consider what a miracle it is that a body can grow the strands of her own survival, and what ingenuity it takes to comb and style a path to freedom.”—The New York Times

Kirkus Reviews

“A poignant tale of courage and resistance and of long-standing cultural traditions.”—Kirkus Reviews