[1][2] It tells the story of a boy called Jessie Bollier who witnessed first-hand the savagery of the Atlantic slave trade.

The book not only includes a historical account, but it also touches upon the emotional conflicts felt by those involved in transporting the slaves from Africa to other parts of the world.

It tells the story of a thirteen-year-old boy, Jessie Bollier, who is put in a position which allows him to see the African slave trade in person.

There he is forced to play the fife in order to keep the other slaves dancing, and thus strong when they arrive at their destination.

The captain, Cawthorne, seems mad, the first mate, Nicholas Spark is cruel, and the sailors are concerned solely with making money through the slave trade.

When they get to Africa they travel the coast and the captain uses a small boat to go and meet with the African chiefs who are selling people into slavery.

As the journey to America continues, Jessie realizes how much he hates everything around him, including the slaves, as they represent his own enslavement on the ship.

In time, he decides to become an apothecary and moves to Rhode Island, a state where there are no slaves.

He does miss things about the South, and wonders what became of Ras (the enslaved boy) whom he had befriended, but never learns anything more about him.

Kirkus Reviews said of the book: "...each of the sailors is sharply individualized, the inhuman treatment of the captives is conveyed straight to the nose and stomach rather than the bleeding heart, and the scenes in which Jessie is forced to play his fife to '"dance the slaves"' for their morning exercise become a haunting, focusing image for the whole bizarre undertaking.

"[4] In a retrospective essay about the Newbery Medal-winning books from 1966 to 1975, children's author John Rowe Townsend wrote, "In its superficial aspect, The Slave Dancer is a sea-adventure story; yet the true adventure of Jessie Bollier is a spiritual adventure into the most terrible depths of human nature.