(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Bryan Collier. During the Civil War, an enslaved man plans a daring escape. Robert Smalls steers a Confederate ship through Charleston Harbor with his wife, their children, and twelve other enslaved people on board. Their mission, to reach a Union blockade just beyond the harbor, was a “life-or-death voyage.” Moore builds the drama and suspense in the story of his great-grandfather’s escape (contextualized in an author’s note) with careful pacing, and the dangerous journey comes to life through beautiful, collage-style illustrations that capture the escapees’ emotions.

Reviewer:

(2) K-3 Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. A true story from the Civil War offers insight into a little-known aspect of ­African American history. In 1861 ­Virginia, a man named George Scott, who had escaped enslavement, overhears how field hands had rowed to the nearby Fortress Monroe seeking refuge--and Union soldiers had not returned them to captivity. Scott joins the flow of people seeking freedom, known as "contrabands." At the fortress, he tells Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler that he knows the location of some ­Confederates, and Butler sends him on a reconnaissance mission. His bravery and heroism prompt Butler to seek freedom for Scott and the others, writing, "These contrabands had been property, but since they had been abandoned, they were now simply men, women, and children... These human beings must be given the free enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Castrovilla's straightforward narrative style makes the events readily accessible to readers who are interested in this complex era of American history. Lewis's atmospheric watercolors convey themes of urgency and humanity. Comprehensive back matter includes additional information about contrabands, Butler, Scott, and Fort Monroe; archival photographs; and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) K-3 Adapted by Ibram X. Kendi. Illustrated by Loveis Wise. Kendi's (Stamped, rev. 5/20) adaptation of a short story by Hurston softens (or leaves out) the original's violence, adds elements that are explained in a historical endnote, and retains the narrative frame of a "Mighty River" telling a brook a story about people in love. The tale begins with Bentley, who escapes enslavement and marries Swift Deer, a Cherokee woman. They have a daughter they name ­Magnolia Flower, who grows up during the Civil War and falls in love with a brown-skinned man named John. Bentley doesn't approve of John and locks him up to keep the lovers apart. Magnolia Flower frees him and they run away. The story ends with their return to the banks of the river forty years later. Both the lyrical text and the flowing digital illustrations let the theme of love running through Hurston's stories shine. Wise's (The People Remember, rev. 11/21; Ablaze with Color, rev. 3/22) brightly colored images capture the beauty of the forest and the love between ­Magnolia Flower and John. In his appended author's note, Kendi explains his intention behind adapting a short story for adults as a picture-book text: "The earlier we expose our children to our literary treasures--to our literary legends like Hurston--the ­better."

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(1) 4-6 Many accounts of the Underground Railroad mention that enslaved Blacks would stick close to swamps as they made their way North, as the topography proved problematic for slave catchers. A lesser-known fact is that from the 1700s through the Civil War, hundreds of African Americans remained in the swamp and established thriving communities. One such area, the Great Dismal Swamp, serves as the inspiration for Luqman-Dawson's engrossing, multi-­perspective debut novel. Twelve-year-old Homer is on the run with his seven-year-old sister, their mother having turned back to save his friend, Anna. Homer has no idea how to survive in the swamp; the answer arrives in ­Suleman, a Black man with knowledge of both the swamp and the surrounding plantations. Suleman leads them to Freewater, an established community with a whole generation of children who have only known freedom. Homer makes the hard choice to go back to his old plantation (accompanied by his new friends) to free his mother, but she and Anna have their own plans for freedom, supported by an unexpected source: Nora, the youngest daughter of the plantation owner. When they all converge on the night of a wedding, sacrifices from each of them bring the story to an explosive and cathartic conclusion. Every chapter begins with a character's name and records their journey, successfully developing a multidimensional cast. The author's note contains a brief history of these communities formed by both Indigenous and self-emancipated Black people.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(3) 4-6 Very Important People series. Illustrated by Daniel Duncan. In seven chapters geared toward third and fourth graders, Patrick discusses engineer and inventor Latimer's life and work. Born in 1848 to fugitive slaves in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Latimer's remarkable career included work for Alexander Graham Bell and (indirectly) Thomas Edison. Inviting illustrations in blue and gray tones help break up the readable text. Frequent sidebars elaborate on topics in the main text (patents, the Industrial Revolution) and introduce Lewis's contemporaries (Booker T. Washington; "Other Nineteenth-Century Inventors"). The book ends with a list of Lewis's patents, a timeline, brief bios of four modern-day African American inventors, and an extensive bibliography.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) YA Appelt personifies Texas' Buffalo Bayou as it witnesses complex backstories from the past and present. Readers meet contemporary sixteen-year-old Cade; his father, who promised he'd leave newborn Cade for adoption but couldn't let him go; and freed slave Achsah, attempting to lead her daughters to freedom through the Underground Railroad in 1845. Readers are entrusted with putting the pieces together to make their own connections before the final denouement.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) 4-6 In 1725, twelve-year-old Oliver is sentenced to seven years of indentured servitude in the American colonies. His cruel master instills fear in Oliver and his new friend Bara, an enslaved African boy, causing them to flee into the swamp. This sequel to The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts is again replete with Dickensian incident, and narrator Oliver presents a vivid picture of colonial life.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt

(1) K-3 Using deceptively simple, repetitive verse, an enslaved girl narrates her family's daily plantation activities over a week, every morning beginning with the bell ringing--until Thursday when her brother runs away. The author communicates the complex emotions of individuals fleeing enslavement and the aftermath for those left behind. Through lush watercolors that expertly frame and highlight the characters, the reader is drawn into scenes of tenderness, joy, terror, and despair.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(2) 4-6 Martha Tom crosses the Bok Chitto River, which separates the Choctaw Nation from a white-owned plantation, and she meets enslaved boy Lil Mo. The two become friends, and she helps his family cross the river to freedom. Tingle's narrative, set in 1808 Mississippi and told with heart and humor, brings to life a multitude of fascinating characters while illuminating a little-known moment in history. Glos.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(1) 4-6 In 1858 South Carolina, twelve-year-old Charlie Bobo must go north with a plantation overseer to find "thieves." When white, ignorant Charlie (a product of his circumstances) is forced to be complicit in the slave trade, he finds his conscience and does the right thing. While shorter than its Buxton Chronicles predecessors (Elijah of Buxton; The Madman of Piney Woods), this tale is just as powerful, masterfully intertwining humor and tragedy.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Anna Rich. A young enslaved African American boy, the son of a blacksmith, listens to the rhythms his father hammers out and learns them for himself; when his father falls ill, he pounds out the rhythms himself--an important job since, as this picture book (dubiously) speculates, it's to help runaway slaves on their journey to freedom. Dark oil paintings add emotion and suspense.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Larry Day. A series of first-person poems relate slave siblings Jeb and Mattie's escape to freedom in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on the Underground Railroad. Additional voices of slave owners, slave catchers, and Underground Railroad conductors provide a fuller understanding of the dangers risked for freedom. Day's large, muted illustrations ably capture the siblings' harrowing experiences. Extensive historical notes and endpaper maps add value. Reading list. Bib.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. Thirteen-year-old Martha Bartlett lives with her Quaker family in an abolitionist community in 1850s Connecticut. When her adopted younger brother, Jake--a light-skinned, possibly autistic orphan of a runaway slave--is kidnapped by slave catchers following the Fugitive Slave Act, Martha embarks on an Underground Railroad–aided rescue mission. Historical tidbits enhance this readable but uneven story of sibling love. Author's note appended.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 In 1861 at the start of the Civil War, twelve-year-old Callie's enslaved family seeks refuge at the Union outpost at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where Callie is able to attend school. The family's story is told in expressive language, and timeless sentiments undergird the stark scenes. Inspired by true events, the book includes a wealth of contextual matter. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(2) 4-6 Seeds of America series. In 1781, Isabel (Chains) continues her fraught journey with her companion, Curzon (Forge), to rescue her sister from slavery. After fleeing the plantation, the three are inexorably drawn toward Yorktown, the setting of the climactic battle of the American Revolution. Anderson takes full advantage of unfolding history--and the moral quagmire of colonial-American racial politics--to weave in a plethora of historical detail.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(3) 4-6 Young Grace is plucked from her family to serve Master and Missus in the "Big House." When she bravely resists and speaks her mind, Grace's family flees the plantation and seeks refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp. This story in verse pulls readers in through dialogue and imagery, illuminating the horror of slavery and the real history of the Great Dismal Swamp sanctuary.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(3) 4-6 In 1842, twelve-year-old Virginia native Elias is sent to Kentucky to the experimental tuberculosis hospital of Dr. John Croghan. As he regains his health, Elias builds relationships, not with the other (white) patients, but with the black slaves working there. Based on historical events, Elias's story is exciting, and the message of shared humanity is strong without being didactic.

Reviewer: Sian Gaetano

(4) YA Abolitionists, a fugitive slave, irresponsible transcendentalists, and a murder combine in this fictionalized vision of what Louisa May Alcott's life might have looked like before she turned to writing as a profession. MacColl's tale captures the complex financial and philosophical realities of the Alcott family, but this blend of biographical and historical research and storytelling occasionally tends toward melodrama. Author's note. Reading list.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) 4-6 Setting the Stage for Fluency series. Illustrated by Courtney A. Martin. These plays could be done as readers' theater or staged as a full dramas, although the dialogue is stilted in both. In Gourd, two fugitive slaves learn about the Underground Railroad. Sequoyah makes clear the historical significance of a syllabary for the Cherokee language. The prosaic illustrations may offer costume and setting ideas. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers these Setting the Stage for Fluency titles: Follow the Drinking Gourd and Sequoyah and His Talking Leaves.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 What Would You Do? series. These volumes place young readers at the heart of some dilemmas of frequently studied pivotal events in American history. Sections in simple, conversational language promote discussion by alternating "What Would You Do?" questions (which are more sophisticated than the main text) with "What Really Happened." Maps and archival images add to the presentation. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these What Would You Do? titles: The Alamo, The Boston Tea Party, The Salem Witch Trials, and The Underground Railroad.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo