The deep dive into all things Harriet Tubman this spring led us into another book search on the Underground Railroad. I wanted to find books that I could read to three of our four to begin the education of the slavery era in a kiddo-friendly way and books that would take me beyond what I knew about the escape experience. Here are books about the Underground Railroad you need to know.
I couldn’t find any board books or simpler picture books for Hope. If you know of any, message me!
Littles
Barefoot by Pamela Duncan Edwards is magical. This book is told from the perspective of the animals living along the Underground Railroad. They call runaway slaves ‘The Barefoot’ and the Plantation Seekers ‘The Heavy Boots.’ The animals send small signals to the Barefoot to guide him (her) to safety along the railroad. This is beautiful!
Unspoken by Henry Cole is a gorgeously illustrated wordless picture book. The character discovers a runaway slave and she shows incredible compassion and bravery to keep the slave hidden. The illustrations are just be-YOND!
Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine is another gorgeously illustrated picture book. Henry was separated from his mother (also a slave) and then years later, separated from his wife and three children. Determined to escape, Henry hatches a plan to find freedom. This man shows so much courage (and stamina). I know this heartbreak of being torn away from family is just one of millions. It is so painful to imagine.
Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson is an engaging picture book that follows a group of runaway slaves along the Underground Railroad. I even learned something about the quilts displayed by Quakers on the railroad. I really liked this book!
Emerging Readers
The Underground Railroad – An Interactive History Adventure by Allison Lassieur is an amazing ‘you choose’ book! Readers get the option to experience being a runaway slave, a slave catcher and an abolitionist on the Underground Railroad. Blue and I read this together and chose all three options in one sitting and he loved it! What an incredible way to gain perspective by walking (literary-speaking) in different shoes!
Bonnie Bader’s American Girl – The Underground Railroad made my day! I had NO idea the American Girl enterprise made this ‘Real Stories from My Time’ series, and I am here for it! Signmeup.com! Addy is a fictional character (I wasn’t an AG devotee as a kid) and the authors weaves in Addy’s journey escaping with her brother to the north with non-fiction facts. This is awesome option to introduce kiddos to the harshness of what was reality for so many slaves.
The Drinking Gourd by F. N. Monjo is a fictional tale about Tommy, the son of Quaker parents, and his discovery of runaway slaves in his barn. Tommy learns about his parents’ involvement in helping escaping slaves along the Underground Railroad. Not a new book, but really well worth it!
Ranger in Time – Long Road to Freedom by Kate Messner is such a win! Think Magic Tree House but with a dog. And I love Magic Tree House, so this was a delight! Ranger is able to go back in time to help people in need. In this case it’s 1850 and Sarah (12) and her brother Jesse (9) are slaves at Master Bradley’s plantation. Their mother died years ago and their father ran away, but they don’t know what came of his escape. Sarah hears that her brother is going to be sold and she makes that they will runaway north to freedom. This is historical fiction and has so. much. good. information. For reals. I swear, every book I’ve come across about slavery or the Underground Railroad or superheroes like Harriet Tubman, I cannot get over the bravery and straight up grit. Wading through water. Always watching over your shoulder. Hunger. No blankets to sleep with. Being in the elements all the dang time regardless of the elements. Not knowing who to trust. I am just in awe. Read this book!
ANOTHER amazing book! Ann Fights for Freedom by Nikki Shannon Smith is part of the Girls Survive series. I didn’t even know that was a thing, and now I’m hooked! First, the content is fantastic and I legit got nervous for Ann and her fam throughout the book. Second, the feel of the pages is phenom. Weird to admit, but I can’t help it. I like a good page feel and font. This series would be awesome for boys or girls in elementary. Or 40 year olds. 😀
Adult
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is a book I won’t be able to forget and have told at least a dozen people about since I finished three days ago. I cannot stop thinking about this book. I loved it and this might be in the top books of all time for me. Mic drop.
This historical fiction novel follows Cora (15) and Caesar as they escape the ruthless Randall plantation in Georgia. Cora’s mother Mabel was the only slave on the plantation to escape successfully. Cora has been on her own for ten years and has never dreamed of leaving. She has resolved to keep her head down and just get through the day. For the rest of her days.
Caesar puts a plan together and the novel follows the two as they move through the fictional underground railroad north.
I want to share so much more of the plot but it has so. many. twists and turns that I can’t say a word.
However, a few thoughts.
- The n-word is everywhere. I didn’t expect this and it caught me off-guard. It was jarring to read every single time. This is not a word I condone or ever hear, so to see it in print felt soul-sucking.
- The atrocities the slaves endured was just something else. You can’t make this stuff up. Despite the need to know more to do better, this was nauseating to read. Again, I think I need to push myself out of my comfort zone to hear these wretched details (and I’m aware it didn’t end with the slavery-era) to become knowledgeable to do better. But, wow. The pure hatred in some of these master’s hearts is so deep that it feels like it could only be fiction. But I know it wasn’t.
- There were good people looking to help escaping slaves. This book shares some insight into their reasons and I finished those chapters feeling like there was a tiny bit of good in such a dark, evil time.
- Escaping slaves lived through helllllllll. What I knew prior to this book painted a picture of filth and muck and wading through swamps and the very definition of survival. This book, however, tells a story of harsher elements (hard to imagine that is even possible), snitches, gorier accidents and punishments, slave-catchers out for pure blood and truly not knowing the outcome of each character. I often wonder for every successful escape, how many others were caught or died en route? I have to imagine it’s such a minimal number of true successful escapes compared to those who tried. That is gutting.
There aren’t enough words to share how profound this book is. Read it. It made me a Colson Whitehead fan by page 2 and even more interested in the Underground Railroad.
A cool option
Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson isn’t a picture book per se, but if there was one book to help my kiddos learn about some of the experiences in a nutshell, if I had to buy just one book to help them gain understanding, this would be it. Chapters include slavery, abolition, Harlem and the Vote for Women and revolution. This is a beautiful book!