Thank you NetGalley and Capstone for the advanced digital copy of "Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons" in exchange for my honest opinion.

Author Gwendolyn Hook's brings us a piece of history that many are not aware of. We often hear about historical accounts of slavery and even of runaways, but what made this stand out was that Ona was in such a difficult location to achieve what she did.
Though the historical aspect of this book was great I was still left wanting more information. I also felt as though it became a bit redundant in areas. This book would, in my opinion, be suited better in a younger age group category.
Overall, this book will be a wonderful addition to the enhancement of historical knowledge.

This short nonfiction reading gives students a fair picture of what life was like for enslaved people in the early years of the United States. It would be a great addition to a unit on the American Revolution or the early United States. The fact that Ona was owned by George Washington will start many enlightening conversations! I also like that this story takes place in the late 1700s, more than 60 years before the Civil War. I think it will add perspective for my students. #OnaJudgeOutwitsTheWashingtons #NetGalley

The story of Ona Judge is a reminder of how strong enslaved people were and of the determination many had to be free from the hardships of slavery. Her story also highlights the often glossed over fact that many of America's founding fathers and presidents enslaved human beings.

The story begins as Ona is a small child working outdoors, longing to be near her mother who worked indoors. From there, her story takes twists and turns that creates Ona's willingness to risk everything to free herself from the bondage of the Washingtons. Through Ona's journey, readers get a peek into the constant fear enslaved people endured at the thought of being caught, punished, and dragged back into slavery. Gwendolyn Hooks gets real about the institution of slavery touching on family separations and of the devaluing of enslaved persons as dictated by the Constitution. These are important to share so that slavery is understood as the atrocity it was.

One caveat is the illustrations. The colors chosen for the illustrations are captivating and brings life to the pages. However, I'm not sure if there is a purpose behind the style of illustrations chosen to accompany the story. The illustrations were a bit distracting as many of the characters looked different and disproportionately drawn throughout the book. A note of explanation about the illustration style chosen would have been helpful. Despite that one caveat, Ona's story is an important one and I'm happy it's being told.

The story tells the life of Ona Judge, a slave who was owned by President Washington and his wife. I'm not sure the word "outwits" is accurate. Maybe "escapes the Washingtons" would be a better description. I would have liked to know more about her life following her move to Greenland. The story seems to jump past a big portion of her life. This is a well done picture book that makes it easier for children to understand a difficult topic. It would make a great addition to any classroom during Black History Month.

Interesting graphic novel about an enslaved woman, owned by the Washingtons. She manages to escape but they go to great lengths to try and get her back.

Ona. an African (African-American) Slave woman who makes a flight for freedom, she would risk everything to achieve complete freedom. Born into slavery at Mount Vernon, Ona seized the opportunity to escape.
How could the Washingtons think that her condition as a slave was ok by her? It was not, and find out how, and why!

Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons is fascinating story told by Gwendolyn Hooks and illustrated by Simone Agoussoye. The story follows the life of Ona Judge, one of George and Martha Washington’s slaves, who managed to escape her life of slavery and risked her life to find freedom.

This insightful book brought to light a story few have heard before. Gwendolyn Hooks writes the story in a manner for the age group it is intended for (ages 9-10). It is just short enough to keep the reader engaged and full of information that should be easy enough for a middle grade reader to comprehend.

My only issue with this book was the illustrations. The cover of the book has a beautiful illustration of Ona Judge. I was extremely disappointed to see that the illustrations inside the book were completely different. Inside the book, the illustrations looked flat and lacked the same kind of depth as the cover. Being a non-fiction picture book for middle grades, I believe that the illustrations should help tell the story and in this case, it was only a distraction for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of the story of Ona Judge before. This story can be read by children or adults and it summarises very clearly the events. There is a recurring focus that the Washington’s and their friends only wanted her to return because they considered having a runaway slave as a dig to their pride.

Great book about Ona Judge! It is age appropriate and introduces this brave woman to children. Gwendolyn Hooks does a great job telling the younger crowd this amazing story.

Ona Judge’s story is an important one because it reveals a great deal about the world in which George Washington and his slaves lived. It opens up issues like freedom vs. enslavement, individual rights vs. legal obligations, and courage to pursue change vs. hopelessness and conformity. This book tells Ona Judge’s story but does not provide a strong position on these issues. In addition, many of the illustrations do not match the text. For example, when readers learn that “young Ona was too little for housework,” the illustrations show her as big—even mature and also disproportioned. Another illustration shows slave parents parting from their children who were sold. However, the parents are waving goodbye and don’t appear distraught. While readers will learn about Ona Judge’s from a clearly written text, there is more that could be done to help readers think about this compelling story.

This is truly an amazing story. We forget, because we like to make the founding fathers such wonderful men, that many of them kept slaves, including George Washington. Ona Judge was one of his house slaves that he took to Philadelphia, when she was president, in fact.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-29-at-9.15.22-AM.png" alt="Ona judge" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4937" />

This picture book is the simplified story of how she managed to escape capture, after she ran away. And remember that an enslaved person did not become free, simply by running away. They remained a slave, even while living in a free state.

Washington did not take well to having lost her, and tried several times to get her back.

A great picture book to show the underside of one of the founding fathers, as well as a very smart woman.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Beautiful illustrations and a powerful story combine to create a strong narrative that would be appropriate for any classroom.