The author’s note calls this a novel. Yes it is based on Margru’s own writings, documents, images and has so much information that I have placed it in our nonfiction section.

As the description notes, this is a fictionalized memory book of a real-life figure. Sarah Margru Kinson was only nine years old when she was kidnapped from her beloved home in Africa and taken by force to Cuba. She was bundled in the holding cargo with fifty two others, including three children.

They were sold in Cuba and revolted and overtook the ship. Captured and sent to trial for possible punishment of those who took the Africans from their homeland and forced them into labor, the trial went to the Supreme Court where it was ruled they were entitled to be returned to Africa.

This is the story of Sarah, the terrors, the joys, the different cultures she grew to know. Stunningly illustrated, this is a book I will keep and store with other favorite illustrated books. ( )

Inspired by a true account of a child who arrives in America on the slave ship Amistad, this first-person narrative recounts the strength and hope on the return journey home to Africa. Primary Source.

Magulu is kidnapped from her home in Sierra Leone and shipped along with dozens of other Africans to Cuba to be sold as a slave. But after being sold and boarding the ship Amistad to be taken to her master’s home, an unthinkable turn of events – a slave mutiny! a crooked journey up the east coast with a double-crossing captain! – brings her to New Haven, Connecticut, with a few of her friends who were kidnapped at the same time.

Throughout the ensuing trial, in which the slaves’ case is argued in the Supreme Court by John Quincy Adams himself, Magulu (whose name is changed to Sarah) learns to speak and read English, wear the stifling clothes of America, and perform the chores for the New Haven family who has taken her in (not with entirely good intentions). As the trial drags on, Magulu’s constant desire to return to her African home seems more and more distant.

You can finish this short book in a couple hours, and you ought to. It’s a fascinating story from a slice of American history we hear very little about. ( )

This is an outstanding imagined account of the life of a child, Margru, who was taken from what is now Sierra Leone to Cuba & then sold into slavery. Aboard the Amistad, she witnessed its mutiny & recapture, only to be held in New Haven, CT while her future was decided, ultimately by the Supreme Court in 1841. While awaiting her fate, she excels in school and eventually (with a brief return to the US to attend Oberlin) returns to Africa to become a teacher "Of the people I loved and the country I admired" (p 56). This title is both carefully crafted--the research and depiction are impeccable--and beautifully rendered--the illustrations are thoughtful and rich. Especially touching are the images of Margru's dreams, at once misty and distinct. Also, the decision to use brief, poetic white text on black to depict the misery of trans-Atlantic transport in the ship's hold is genius. "Africa is My Home" is an affecting story for any reader, but the language, content and images are aimed squarely at the intended audience. This is a perfect brief work of historical for 4th and 5th graders. ( )