A predictable daily routine defines the life of a small girl whose family is enslaved in the American South. Their day begins when the bell is rung each morning, but everything changes when her older brother runs away with two of his friends. Most books about escape from slavery focus on the person running away, but this picture book offers the unusual perspective of the family left behind. The powerful narrative uses just a few words to pack in intense emotions: fear and hope. The oppressive routine of slave labor is structured by the days of the week, with Monday through Wednesday relentlessly predictable, making Thursday, the day of the brother’s escape, all the more dramatic. The large font is laid out on the page like lines of poetry, making it easy to read, and the accompanying illustrations show so much of the young girl’s emotions. The final, arresting page spread shows the girl looking back at the bell, opposite an image of a bird in flight. (Ages 7–10)

Recipient of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2019

A young slave girl witnesses the heartbreak and hopefulness of her family and their plantation community when her brother escapes for freedom in this brilliantly conceived picture book by Coretta Scott King Award winner James E. Ransome.

Every single morning, the overseer of the plantation rings the bell. Daddy gathers wood. Mama cooks. Ben and the other slaves go out to work. Each day is the same. Full of grueling work and sweltering heat. Every day, except one, when the bell rings and Ben is nowhere to be found. Because Ben ran. Yet, despite their fear and sadness, his family remains hopeful that maybe, just maybe, he made it North. That he is free.

An ode to hope and a powerful tribute to the courage of those who ran for freedom, The Bell Rang is a stunning reminder that our past can never be forgotten.