North Star to Freedom [Hardcover]

Gena K. Gorrell (Author), Rosemary Brown (Foreword)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

For thousands of slaves--whose exact number will never be known--the North Star marked the way to freedom on the Underground Railroad.  The stories of the brave "passengers" on the escape route whose extraordinary fortitude broke their own chains, and of the "conductors" who risked their lives to help others, are a testament to the human spirit.

In this fascinating and thorough account, Gena K. Gorrell movingly describes the history of the Underground Railroad, from the origins of slavery through the Civil War and beyond.  She depicts the passage from Africa on desperately crowded slave ships, the station-by-station development of the powerful Railroad routes to the northern United States and Canada, and the immense challenges runaways faced once they reached freedom.  Throughout the narrative, Gorrell highlights the pivotal roles played by various people of the era, those who became famous and those who remain too little known.

The immediacy of the writing is complemented by period posters, photographs, and paintings, making North Star to Freedom a living history so gripping that it will be impossible to forget.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8. A number of innovative and well-researched titles about the Underground Railroad have been published in the 1990s. North Star to Freedom adds to the wealth of information and anecdotes about this important chapter in history because the focus of the book, and the research on which it is based, is centered in Canada, the ultimate destination for many slaves. After recounting a general history of slavery, Gorrell tells of the involvement of Canadian Quakers and abolitionists in aiding and welcoming the runaways. She includes individual accounts of slaves who settled there; among the prints and posters that profusely illustrate her narrative are impressive studio photographs of ex-slaves who prospered in their new home. Brief vignettes introduce each chapter and add human interest to the author's factual account. Told from the British and British-Canadian viewpoint, this history adds a new dimension and perspective to the story of the Underground Railroad. The book contains notes, a bibliography, and other evidence of careful research. It is clearly written and will be useful both as an introduction to the subject and as a supplement to other titles about the period already on the shelves.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-10. Hideouts, spies, codes, disguises, and tricks are the exciting facts of Underground Railroad history; the runaways and their conductors are inspiring models of courage and sacrifice. Gorrell, a Canadian Quaker, combines the upbeat escape stories with the history of slavery and with the social, political, and economic conflicts that were part of the struggle for emancipation. The book design is handsome and readable, with thick paper; the clear print is broken up with frequent illustrations, including period prints and photos with long captions. Fictionalized vignettes at the start of each chapter are obtrusive (the history is exciting enough), and some principal figures, including Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, get scant attention (Douglass' autobiography is never cited). What Gorrell adds to the best historical accounts, such as Virginia Hamilton's Many Thousand Gone (1993), is the connection with the Canadian experience: the politics of the abolition movement there, how slaves got there, and what it was like for them when they crossed the border (she's frank about both the welcome and the racism). As in the authoritative accounts about Holocaust refugees, the adventure here is always rooted in the horror some escaped from, the suffering of those who did not get away. Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385323190
• ISBN-13: 978-0385323192
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,467,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The American Underground Railroad from the Promised Land, March 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: North Star to Freedom (Hardcover)

"North Star to Freedom" is a matter of fact Canadian view of the American Underground Railroad and the historical periods it existed written for children. Considering that Canaan and the Promised Land were used as code words for Canada in spirituals used in the Underground Railroad it is an intriguing viewpoint. People weren't happy as slaves but being a fugitive slave in another state or country was a tough situation. People risked recapture, started out poor, and struggled against racial prejudice. The Underground railroad is portrayed as varying from kind people acting on impulse to help a runaway to highly organized conductors and stations. Slavery is honestly shown as existing throughout Canada and the United States in different degrees. Occasional freedom from slavery through manumission and self-purchase through savings are mentioned. The only problem I have with the book is that it covers freedom earned by slaves fighting for the Loyalist Cause and emigrating to Canada but not the Patriotic slaves earning their freedom on the American side in regiments such the First Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War. The result was a stable population of free African -Americans in Canada and New England sometimes assisting others to freedom and often camouflaging them. The 1793, Canada legislated the eventual freeing of all its slaves and declared any American slaves crossing the border were free. In contrast, The United States of America passed the first Fugitive Slave Law in 1793 to give slave catchers the right of search and seizure in any state. The Underground Railroad became organized around that time. Some slaves went all the way to Canada but many disappeared into the communities of free African-Americans in the North. Some became active in the Underground Railroad to help others escape, some became well-known abolitionists, some struggled to create a new life for themselves. The Second Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 put all fugitive slaves and some free African-Americans at risk of being captured and sent into slavery on the word of a slave hunter and any white person claiming to be their owner. Active abolitionists who had escaped slavery years previously were especially at risk. Roughly forty thousand fugitive slaves went to Canada. Some returned to fight for the North in the Civil War. After the American Civil War, about two thirds of the fugitive slaves returned to the United States. "North Star to Freedom" describes succinctly how and why the Underground Railroad existed. I would recommend it as a reference book for elementary and middle schools that could also be read for pleasure. The historical treatment of slavery and the Underground Railroad is excellent for the age group. The period illustrations create a parallel story to capture readers.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exciting Source of History, February 8, 2008

By 

Madge - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Star to Freedom (Hardcover)

As a Canadian fourteen-year-old, I found it refreshing to read about the importance of Canadians in the Underground Railroad.

With excellent primary source images, Gena K. Gorrell provides biographies of those involved with the Railroad, excerpts of newspaper articles, and examples of various situations. Each well-written chapter includes an introduction which describes a fictional slave's struggle for freedom. I feel this helps the reader connect emotionally with the ideas discussed in that chapter.

I fully enjoyed every part of this book, especially the examples of ways the stationmasters in the Railroad helped people escape. I like the fact the the author included stories about lesser-known people instead of focusing on the recognizable faces such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. This helps the reader understand the complexity of the system that led so many people to freedom.

I would recommend this book to anyone searching for an exciting source of history.