The Listeners

The Listeners is a picture book that gave me a picture of a culture I perhaps had not heretofore wanted to think about, that of slave families in the antebellum South. It is ultimately about hope because it is written from a child’s viewpoint, it expresses rich cultural traditions that couldn’t be suppressed, and it ends with the election of Abraham Lincoln.

The slave children know something is wrong with the societal structure they live in, but they are still spirited. The horrors of slavery (backbreaking work, separating of families) are contrasted with the thrills of childhood–playing, dancing, cotton-jumping, and–most importantly in this book–spying. While it’s something of a game for the children to listen in to what’s going on in the “great house” where the master and his family live, the little ones are gathering information for the adult slaves. It is through the children that the adults hear of a new overseer, learn who might be sold, and sense the political winds.

I had only vague ideas about the family structure of American slaves, and I was very interested in what I learned from this book. I didn’t know slaves sat in the gallery at white church services and were allowed to sing the hymns, or that secret worship services happened in the woods after. Considering that I had an adult college student tell me last semester that a majority of people sold to slave traders were happy about their new circumstances because they were fed, clothed, and housed, I would say this book is a good antidote to ignorance.

The Listeners is written by Gloria Whelan and illustrated by Mike Benny. The reading level is listed as ages 6-10 (although perhaps, given my experience, even some college-age readers could benefit). It is forty pages long, and published by Sleeping Bear Press.