Open the Door to Liberty!: A Biography of Toussaint L'Ouverture

by Anne Rockwell

The story of revolution leaderToussaint L'Ouverture of St. Domingue (now Haiti). The island now known as Haiti was once a French colony called St. Domingue, where white plantation owners forced... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618605703
• ISBN13: 9780618605705
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.1" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 10 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 7

Customer Reviews

This was a fascinating biography of an unsung hero who deserves to be remembered around the world!

Gaou-Guinou and Pauline didn't have much hope for their "skinny, puny baby boy." In fact they didn't think he was going to live. A prophetic, "African-born slave" had predicted big things for this child, but it was obvious she was mistaken. When Francois-Dominique Toussaint (later named L'Ouverture) was a boy he didn't like being called "Little Stick" by his peers, but perhaps that was the type of taunting that shaped his character. His godfather noticed that he was "remarkably intelligent" and began to tutor him. Toussaint, as he was called, saw how cruelly some slaves were treated. He was a thoughtful young boy and he read about Raynal, who predicted "one day a leader would rise up from slavery" and lead his people. The young boy began to dream that he would be that leader. When he was thirty-three, his master freed him. He was intrigued by "liberty, equality, and brotherhood," but it wasn't until he was almost fifty that he would begin to lead his people in battle. Toussaint "had led the first triumphant slave rebellion in history," but there were things on the horizon that could not have been foretold. The "Man of Destiny," Napoleon, had his eyes set on St. Domingue. He wanted to get rid of Toussaint and restore slavery by force. Could this little man survive the wrath of a man as driven as himself? Would slavery once again visit the island? This was a fascinating biography of an unsung hero who deserves to be remembered around the world. St. Domingue, now Haiti, is a country that is seldom discussed in classrooms outside of geography lessons. Toussaint L'Ouverture, according to the author, struck her as a "genuine hero, only not myth or legend, but recorded history." After reading this marvelous biography, one in which she seemed to capture his personality, I would concur. This biography would be a wonderful stepping stone for student reports. In the back of the book is a list of several resources Rockwell used that could be used by the more serious student.