Imagine leaving everything you've ever known--your friends, family, and home--to travel along roads you've never seen before, getting help from people you've never met before, with the constant threat of capture hovering over your every move. Would you risk your life on the Underground Railroad to gain freedom from slavery? In The Underground Railroad: Navigate the Journey from Slavery to Freedom, readers ages 9 to 12 examine how slavery developed in the United States and what motivated abolitionists to work for its destruction. The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses operated by conductors and station masters, both black and white. Readers follow true stories of enslaved people who braved patrols, the wilderness, hunger, and their own fear in a quest for freedom. In The Underground Railroad, readers dissect primary sources, including slave narratives and runaway ads. Projects include composing a song with a hidden message and navigating by reading the nighttime sky. Amidst the countless tragedies that centuries of slavery brought to African Americans lie tales of hope, resistance, courage, sacrifice, and victory--truly an American story.

 

There are 128 pages in this book. This book was published 2017 by Nomad Press .

Tom Casteel is an illustrator and cartoonist with a master's degree from the Center for Cartoon Studies. Tom has illustrated several books for Nomad Press, including The Brain: Journey Through the Universe Inside Your Head ; Cities: Discover How They Work ; and Human Migration: Investigate the Global Journey of Humankind . Tom lives in South Bend, Indiana. Judy Dodge Cummings writes and teaches in south central Wisconsin. Some of her nonfiction books for young readers include Civil War, Exploring Polar Regions, and The American Revolution: Experience the Battle for Independence.

This book has the following chapters: Timeline Introduction: The Freedom Train Chapter 1: The Peculiar Institution Chapter 2: Resistance Chapter 3: Laying the Tracks Chapter 4: Navigating the Freedom Trail Chapter 5: Treacherous Travel Chapter 6: Courageous Collaborators Glossary Resources Index