DREAM FREEDOM is a story inspired by actual events. It focuses on the very serious issue of human slavery, which, believe it or not, exists in modern-day Africa. The book offers viewpoints from both sides, weaving back and forth between stories of enslaved Dinkas in the Sudan and the reactions of American children who learn of the Africans' plight and are determined to help them.

The book begins with Marcus, who is upset by the newspaper article that Miss Hazel, his teacher, shows to the class. It's about an African girl, 13, who had been a slave for 7 years until someone purchased her freedom. Marcus doesn't like to think about the starvation and torture the girl endured. She's not much older than he is. It's hard to look at the picture of the rag wrapped around her body instead of clothes. He wonders if the newspaper article is even true. But Miss Hazel and the class begin investigating, and they decide to do something to help. In their research, the students discover that these African slaves can be redeemed for $50 apiece --- the price of two goats --- and Miss Hazel's class soon thinks up ways to raise money to free as many slaves as they can. They write letters to celebrities asking for help. Marcus even writes to a congressman.

Intermixed with the efforts of the American children to help are the stories of Dinka slaves. Kidnapped or captured during raids on their villages, these people have no hope of being free again unless they can escape or be redeemed with money. Rumor says that there is a man who tries to help. He searches for slaves and buys them back. He sets them free and reunites them with their families. Is this rumor true? If this man really does these things, why? Can he be trusted?

DREAM FREEDOM exposes some of the terrible atrocities being done to people in Sudan. It's based on the real-life teacher and her students who tried to make a difference. They even testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and submitted DREAM FREEDOM into the Congressional Record. This is a great book about how everyday people --- even children --- can become active for a noble cause and truly make a difference.