Following Freedom's Star: The Story of the Underground Railroad by James Haskins

Haskins, J., & Benson, K. (2002). Following Freedom's Star: The Story of the Underground Railroad.Tarrytown, NY: Benchmark Books.

Summary:
This book begins when America still belonged to England. It describes what slaves were required to do and then moves into telling about some of the slaves who escaped, such as one that belonged to Martha Washington, and how they had to keep their life in hiding. Throughout the book, two main slaves were discussed: Harriet Jacobs and John P. Parker. Both of these people became conductors on the Underground Railroad. The book describes where the Underground Railroad got its name, the various laws and acts that were put in to place to help slave owners, and the rediscovery of the Underground Railroad.

Ages:
3rd through 7th grade

Credibility of Author:
The authors read many books and talked to many people before writing this book.

National Standards that this book relates to:
The social studies standards that this book relates to are culture, time, continuity, change, people, places, environments, individual development and identity.

Access Features:
Table of contents, foreward, index, further readings, bibliography, and notes

Description of the Illustrations:
The photo research was conducted by Candlepants Incorporated and the photographs were taken from many sources such as historical societies and colleges.

Awards:
none

Related Texts:
Fleeing to Freedom on the Underground Railroad: The Courageous Slaves, Agents, And Conductors (People's History) by Elaine Landau
The Underground Railroad (Cornerstones of Freedom) by R. Conrad Stein
From Slavery to Freedom With Harriet Tubman (My American Journey) by Deborah Hedstrom-Page

My response to the book:
I learned so mych about the Underground Ralroad that I did not know. I recommed that everyone read this book!

How I would use this book in my class:
I think my class would enjoy this book over the period of at least one week completed as a read aloud, maybe during Black History month.

This book is 112 pages.