Young woman and others running toward freedom from slavery. The use of a quilt which indicates homes willing to hide runaways is employed in the text and illustrations. The illustrations are full of emotion and show the joy of eventual freedom. Curriculum: older elementary students and up, civil rights

Although I am not normally the biggest fan of poetry, I really enjoyed this book. I liked how the poems were separated by different parts of the main character’s journey. This made the poem easier to read and kept my attention. I also enjoyed the narrative style of writing. It felt like you were actually there in the moment with the young girl. The writing was also very descriptive which I liked. The main message of the book was to show the young girl’s journey on the Underground Railroad and depict what a difficult and long journey this was for her. I also liked that the story had a page in the back of the book that talked briefly about how this is a fictional story, but the Underground Railroad was real. ( )

In this book a group of African American slaves are escaping to freedom. It's told from the point of view of a young girl who is brave, strong and determined to find freedom. They move at night and hide during the day. While the young girl is on watch, she sees a woman walk across her yard and hang a quilt on the fence to signal that she hides runaways there. The young girl is brave so she goes first and knocks on the door. A couple opens the door and invites them all in and gives them food and a place to sleep. Early the next morning they leave with a man, hiding in the back of his wagon. They make it to Canada, freedom at last. We see how the young girl is scared but doesn't let the fear get to her because the thought of freedom overtook her fear. ( )

My thoughts are @ Bridget Blogs Books ( )

This book has great illustrations and detail telling the story of a young boy traveling through the Underground Railroad to be freed from slavery. It is written in sections based upon what the boy is going through in each part. The author uses great detail to help the reader truly grasp what it was like to be a slave fighting for freedom in this time period. As the boy waits to continue traveling when the sun goes down the author writes, "It's hot. Sweat dribbles down my neck. Thorns rake my arms and legs." These vivid details really paint the picture for the reader and help bring the story to life. It also makes it clear how rigorous this experience was for people of all ages. It is a great book for describing the period of the Civil War and teaching it as well.