I really enjoyed The Freedom Riddle. I thought it took a hard concept of slavery and made it appropriate and approachable for young readers to learn from. Slavery is an awful topic to discuss with young readers as it brings back a hard time in our nations history. Although this takes a lighter look at a devastating time, it gives the message that freedom is attainable but usually not through simple means of a riddle. I liked the childlike effect this story had for such a big topic. It allows children the opportunity to see how oppressed the African-American culture was and how they managed to survive such a tough time. I liked how long it took the slave to come up with the riddle and that it had to do with his daily life that his master could not solve. Overall I think this is a good book to help segue students into learning about slavery at a young age. ( )

The Freedom Riddle is about a man named Jim who is a slave that creates a riddle to receive his freedom. I love how Jim took his time to provide Master Brown with a decent riddle and his riddle even stumped me towards the end. This book does well to illustrate how Jim's wit won him his freedom. This book is great to share with students during Black History month about slavery and the importance freedom or to introduce them to riddles, ( )

The Freedom Riddle is easy to read and has a good story that would be culturally relevant to African American children. ( )

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. First of all, I liked how it was a true story of a slave during the 1850's. I also like how it showed how a slave used his wit and brains to gain his freedom rather than brute force or running away. It was nice to show a different side of gaining freedom than you would typically read about. It was interesting to learn about their Christmas traditions as slaves as well. While slavery was a terrible thing this book showed how it was hard for the slaves but was not extremely graphic about just how bad it was. It seemed like their master was not as cruel either which I found good for children to read. I also like how it showed all the work the slaves had to preform through each season and how Jim used his daily life to stump the master with a riddle. The main message in this book was to use experience and wit to gain what he wanted most. ( )

Based upon the short story A Riddle for Freedom - told to author William J. Faulkner by a farmhand who worked for his mother, and contained in the collection The Days When the Animals Talked: Black American Folktales and How They Came to Be - this picture-book follows the story of Jim, an enslaved man who uses the Christmas traditions on Master Brown's plantation to win his freedom. Knowing that his owner cannot resist a riddle, Jim proposes that, if he can ask a riddle his master cannot answer, he be liberated.

I enjoyed this story of a slave who uses his wits to win his freedom, particularly since - according to Medearis' brief foreword - it is based upon an actual incident in 1850s Virginia. The harsh realities of slavery are presented realistically - Jim's separation, as a young boy, from his family, the poverty of the slave quarters - but not in such a way that they will overwhelm the young readers who are the target audience. I did find Jim's riddle a little "un-riddlish," but that's a small quibble. All in all, an excellent picture-book presentation of the days of slavery, and the human desire for freedom - I thank my friend Wilhelmina for pointing it out to me! ( )