Book Review: Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery from LEah Schanke

Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery from LEah Schanke @Leah Schanke
Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery Apr 10, 2025
Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery
Book Cover Images image of Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery
by Leah Schanke, Illustrated by Oboh Moses
BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC
https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780807524282

MY REVIEW

Frederick Douglass once said, “The American Government and the American Constitution are spoken of in a manner which would naturally lead the hearer to believe that one is identical with the other; when the truth is, they are distinct in character as is a ship and a compass.” (The Constitution of the United States: Is It Pro-Slavery or Anti-Slavery?; source) This statement came two years and two months before Robert Smalls sailed a steamboat, carrying his wife, children, and peers in its belly, successfully using a compass to freedom during the inescapable Civil War on May 13, 1862.

In Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery, the historical fiction by South Carolinian descendant Leah Schanke, the narration comes from Lizzy, the daughter of Robert Smalls. Lizzy’s voice provides unbroken, honest grammar and a slightly geographic but accessible style for modern U.S. readers. Her narration maintains the pace and tone of the escape adventure in the title, crafted for four- to eight-year-olds. Lizzy’s story conveys the fear and consequences of failure without delving into the most gruesome pains of slavery—details that would be difficult for children to comprehend, inconvenient for adults to explain in today’s context, or too vast for a book of this size to contain.

While the Civil War serves as the backdrop, Lizzy’s narration avoids suggesting that either side in the war was primarily concerned with the enslaved seeking freedom. This nuance emphasizes that escapes to freedom were driven by the enslaved themselves, unbound to the motives of any army or navy. It’s a subtle but vital message to convey to children—one that many adults may not even know. Schanke’s story concludes with peace after adversity, and her author’s note provides additional context about the fate of the Smalls family, satisfying the curiosity of parents, educators, and readers alike.

The illustrations by Oboh Moses are vibrant digital constructs, blending the textures of oil and watercolor. The colors shift to match the text’s mood and tempo, enhancing the narrative’s dramatic effects. Lizzy and the other characters are depicted with authenticity, and Moses’s illustrations often suggest that Lizzy is recounting the story to her younger self, a heartwarming touch.

If you appreciate the works of Ezra Jack Keats—his illustrative forms, colors, and narrative focus—the combination of Schanke and Moses in Freedom at Dawn will undoubtedly satisfy you.

Frederick Douglass remarked in 1867, five years after Smalls’s escape, “It is by comparing one nation with another, and one learning from another, each competing with all, and all competing with each, that hurtful errors are exposed.” (Our Composite Nation; source) This book exposes the error of slavery through a child’s lens, set between two governments fighting over destiny.