Written by Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 978-104169-0585-1
Ages 10 & up
Awards:
2008 National Book Awards Finalist
2009 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Review:
In Chains, you meet Isabel. She's a 13 year old slave who had been promised her freedom when her owner died. Instead, she and her sister end up being sold to a cruel New York City couple who actively support the Loyalists and King George. Isabel doesn't care much about what's going on in the colonies. She's more concerned about gaining freedom for her and her sister. Readers follow her as she learns how to navigate through this new life while the war fighting gets closer and grows around her. She has to make choices about staying quiet and going about her business or choosing to help the Loyalists or the Patriots. Students studying the American Revolution will appreciate this historical fiction novel as it presents the Revolutionary War from the eyes of a slave who does not want to be caught in the middle.
Professional Review
Kirkus Starred Review
Teaching Ideas
All standards listed are from the Virginia Department of Education Standards of Learning (2015).
1 - History & Social Science USI.1d & Computer Technology 6-8.1
USI.1d - The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to d) interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives.
C/T 6-8.1 - Demonstrate an operational knowledge of various technologies. A) Use various types of technology devices to perform learning tasks. Demonstrate an ability to perform specific tasks using technology, including organizing, analyzing, and presenting data; formatting and presenting text and graphic information; and capturing and manipulating images.
The American
Revolution was about freedom and liberty, but the characters in the novel have
different points of view of what freedom and liberty means. Select four characters from the novel and do
a “case study” on the theme of freedom and liberty. What does freedom and liberty mean to each of the characters you selected? How do those beliefs affect the character's actions?
Use a program such as ThingLink or Blabberize to create graphics of your four characters explaining their thoughts and actions.
2 - English 6.5c & History & Social Science USI.1i
English 6.5 - The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction, and poetry. c) Describe how word choice and imagery contribute to the meaning of a text.
USI.1 - The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to i) identify the costs and benefits of specific choices made, including the consequences, both intended and unintended, of the decisions and how people and nations responded to positive and negative incidents.
Consider the use of the word "chains" in this novel. Is there more than one set of chains it refers to? Think about and describe Isabel's life between the Loyalists, Patriots, and slaves. Do you think she made the right choice at the end? Why or why not? (Arch, 2013)
3 - History & Social Science USI.5c & English 6.6i
USI.5 - The student will demonstrate knowledge of the factors that shaped colonial America by c) describing colonial life in America from the perspectives of large landowners, farmers, artisans, women, free African Americans, indentured servants, and enslaved African Americans.
English 6.6 - The student will read and demonstrate a variety of nonfiction texts. i) Compare and contrast information about one topic, which may be contained in different selections.
Compare and contrast the lives of slaves in three different situations: plantation, small farm, and city. After your research, choose which situation offers the highest quality of life and explain why. (Arch, 2013)
4 - English 6.5e
English 6.5 - The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction, and poetry. e)Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning. (Essential understandings include recognize that prior or background knowledge assists in making connections to the text.)
Has there ever been a time that you have been in a similar situation as Isabel, "chained" between two or more ideas, possibilities, or tough choices? Describe how you felt during that time and how that helped you understand Isabel's feelings during Chains.
5 - English 6.4
English 6.4 - The student will read and learn the meanings of unfamiliar words and phrases within authentic texts. c) Use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and differentiate among multiple meanings of words.
Keep a list of unknown words found throughout the book. Do your best to use the context clues and other information provided by the author to discover the meaning of them before looking them up in the dictionary. Some suggestions to get you started: addlepated, kerchiefs, cauldron, privy, indentured, satchel, gentry, cahoots. (Syracuse City Schools, n.d.)
Book Trailer for Chains - Get a glimpse into the story with a book trailer created and posted by a librarian
Booktalking Chains - From the New York Public Library
Laurie Halse Anderson's Website - This link will take you directly to the section on Chains, but you can also look around for other information and additional books.
Interview with Laurie Halse Anderson - This interview is 43 minutes long. However, the beginning of the interview talks about the struggles she had with reading and writing when she started school and how she ultimately became a writer.
The Role of Slaves - Blog detailing the role of slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries
The Revolutionary War - Part of the Africans in America series from PBS. Also contains quotes from primary sources.
Fighting...Maybe for freedom, but probably not - Article from Colonial Williamsburg
Visual Record of The Atlantic Slave Trade - An online collection of more than 1,200 images depicting African life and culture, slave life, and emancipation. A project of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and The Digial Media Lab at the University of Virginia Library. This is particularly good for students who are much more visual learners.
For students who prefer to listen to their books in audio format or read in an ebook, Chains is available on iTunes, Audible, and Kindle.
Possible Partner Titles
By Laurie Halse Anderson
Continue the story of Isabel and her friend, Curzon, as they run away and experience life at Valley Forge. Students who enjoyed Chains and its characters will get to watch as the characters develop further into adults.
Publishers Weekly Starred Review (2010)
By James Lincoln Collier
Students interested in the American Revolution will benefit from also reading this classic historical fiction novel that also debates the merits of both sides of the war. The book also includes the theme of families being separated and torn apart as well as the loss of a sibling as Isabel experiences in Chains.
By R.J. Palacio
In Chains, Isabel received a mark on her face (an "I" burned into her cheek for being insolent). In Wonder, Auggie is born with a facial deformity. Both books share how the characters live with their faces and the reactions of others.
Publishers Weekly Starred Review (2012)
By Kyle Baker
This is a nearly wordless depiction of Nat Turner's slave revolt in 1831. The images are graphic but beautifully drawn. This book is best used with older students who would benefit from the discussion around the illustrations or who struggle with reading at their grade level.
By Deborah Wiles
This historical fiction novel follows two girls, one black and one white, through the summer of 1964 in Greenwood, Mississippi. This book is about the same reading level as Chains and, even though the books are set at different times, readers will find parallel themes of freedom, revolution, and choice as the characters in both novels progress and grow.
Publishers Weekly Starred Review (2014)
By Ann McGovern
For students looking for another story about the Revolutionary War but are at a lower reading level, this biography follows Deborah Sampson as she dresses like a man to enlist in the Continental Army.
References
American Graduate D.C. (2012). Laurie Halse Anderson. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=25&v=FcLckscEPdE
Arch, C. (2013). Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson project & rubric. Retrieved from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chains-by-Laurie-Halse-Anderson-Project-Rubric-378988
Bplibrarian. (2010). Chains book trailer. Retrieved from http://www.schooltube.com/video/f53cef197394e4d19543/Chains-Book-Trailer
Dobyns, L. (2007). Fighting...Maybe for freedom, but probably not. Retrieved from http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/autumn07/slaves.cfm
Handler, J. & Tuite, M. (2015). The Atlantic slave trade and slave life in the Americas: A visual record. Retrieved from: http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/index.php
Kirkus. (2008). Chains. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/laurie-halse-anderson/chains/
McDermott, M. (2013). Booktalking "Chains: Seeds of America triolgy" by Laurie Halse Anderson. Retrieved from http://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/02/37/booktalking-chains-seeds-america-laurie-halse-anderson
PBS. (n.d.). Africans in America - The revolutionary war. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2narr4.html
Publishers Weekly. (2010). Forge. Publishers weekly, 257(36), 46. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4169-6144-4
Publishers Weekly. (2012). Wonder. Publishers weekly Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-375-86902-0
Publishers Weekly. (2014). Revolution. Publishers weekly, 75. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-545-10607-8
Sarudy, B. (2013, September 28). The role of slaves in the 18th & 19th century American economy. Retrieved from http://b-womeninamericanhistory18.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-role-of-slaves-in-18th-19th-century.html
Stemple, A. (n.d.). Laurie Halse Anderson - Chains. Retrieved from http://madwomanintheforest.com/historical-chains/
Syracuse City Schools. (n.d.). Introduction to historical fiction. Retrieved from http://www.syracusecityschools.com/tfiles/folder717/Introduction%20to%20Historical%20Fiction-Chains.pdf
Virginia Department of Education. (2015). Standards of learning (SOL) & testing. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/index.shtml
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