Journey to Freedom: A Story of the Underground Railroad [Paperback]

Courtni C. Wright (Author), Gershom Griffith (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Joshua and his family, runaway slaves from a tobacco plantation in Kentucky, follow the Underground Railroad to freedom.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Beginning 20 days into their journey from Kentucky to Canada, this is the story of one family of runaway slaves' flight to freedom along the Underground Railroad. The first-person, present-tense narrative, told from the perspective of an eight-year-old boy, lends a sense of immediacy to the telling. Griffith's watercolor illustrations most often show the family members grouped tightly together, and their visual closeness underscores the main worry?that they will be sold apart?which sent them on their perilous trek. Not as rich as Deborah Harris's Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Knopf, 1993), this title nevertheless gives a basic introduction to the Underground Railroad and the dangers and hardships of the journey. Schools involved in the whole-language approach to learning may find the fictionalized autobiographical approach an added plus.?Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5, younger for reading aloud. Led by Harriet Tubman, a family of escaped slaves flees Kentucky for Canada. Interspersed with conversation, but told in the first person by eight-year-old Joshua, this picture book for older readers follows the family from safe house to safe house until they finally cross the river to their destination. Gershom's double-page-spread watercolors are adequate, but his characters' faces and figuresÿ20lack articulation and expression: Harriet Tubman, for example, appears unreasonably young. The final page of the book contains an author's note with a brief description of the Underground Railroad and a map. Janice Del Negro --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823413330
• ISBN-13: 978-0823413331
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,037,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thought the book was very good, December 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Journey to Freedom: A Story of the Underground Railroad (Hardcover)

My son is eight years old this book was written so he could really grasp what the struggle was all about.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, March 22, 2007

By 

Jenchick - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey to Freedom: A Story of the Underground Railroad (Paperback)

Highly educational for todays modern children to learn about the struggles and triumphs of people before their time. A wonderful story about the underground railroad written in such a way that it held the attention of both myself, my 3 year old and 7 year old. I highly recommend this book!

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read, July 6, 2008

By 

J. Send - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Journey to Freedom: A Story of the Underground Railroad (Paperback)

I ordered this for my son who reads at a 3rd grade level. I thought it was a chapter book type book but it is just a really thin book. He really enjoyed it though, I wish Amazon could come up with a better way of letting you know how big a book is, the # of pages doesn't always mean anything.