African Town

"The Clotilda was the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans to the U.S. more than 150 years ago. African Town tells the ship’s story from multiple perspectives: the king who sold fellow Africans into slavery, the plantation owner who illegally smuggled the ship in and the men, women and children who survived the trans-Atlantic journey. Authors Irene Latham and Charles Waters write in verse, using different styles of poetry for each character, and the result is a haunting, beautifully told history. Today, the Clotilda rests under the muddy waters of Alabama’s Mobile River. The ship is well preserved, and so too is its story for young readers."