Book Review: Phillis Wheatley: Young Revolutionary Poet

Book Ten, Phillis Wheatley: Young Revolutionary Poet, of the Young Patriots Series by Patria Press offers an engaging and insightful look into a female poet that most children know little about. Recommended for ages five to twelve, Phillis Wheatley is an engaging, entertaining read that also provides educational benefit.

You can read this book as a family, or assign it to an older child in homeschool or for extra reading practice. We read this with our son who is home schooled and 12 years old. From the first page until the last he was entertained. In fact, he didn’t want to put it down.

He found the information to be interesting and it brought up some questions that we answered about slavery and the times when Wheatley was alive. Many of the spots had him laughing and reading on his own when we planned to take a break.

As an educational supplement, a home schooling addition, or a traditional book kids can read on their own time, most kids will love this book. Phillis Wheatly is excellent because you have the benefit of reading, which is fun for many children, but it also allows children to learn something historical, as well.

This is a good book to show children that not all slaves were treated poorly and that there were slaves that were able to make an impact on society. They were able to become something and they also were able to learn and grow despite their oppression.

Teaching younger children about slavery can be hard because of the harsh conditions, but adding something like Phillis Wheatley into the fray will offer a positive spin to the information, and make it easier for children to process the information.

Phillis Wheatley tops out at 119 pages and at the end there is a list of fun facts about Phillis, information about the time she lived, and a few definitions that may not have made sense to the children reading this book. This addition really adds to the book because the first question our son asked, was “What happened next?”

From an adult standpoint, I can say that before this book I knew little about Phillis Wheatley. I learned quite a bit of information about Wheatley and for the most part I was very entertained. As a history major I felt it offered plenty of information without being overbearing.

Bottom Line: The illustrations and writing presented in Phillis Wheatley: Young Revolutionary Poet will prove to be beneficial for children of all ages. The book was entertaining, enlightening, and educational. Additionally, it gives people an excellent chance to learn about a wonderful and perhaps, underrated poet.

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