The Underground Railroad (We the People (Compass Point Books Hardcover))

From School Library Journal Grade 3-5-Short chapters, succinct text, large print, and well-chosen illustrations make this book a good starting point for young readers embarking on a study of the topic. The opening chapter cites the cryptic lyrics to the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd," full of hidden signals guiding slaves to freedom. Subsequent chapters explain the secretive and "trackless" network, its railroad euphemisms, and its inherent dangers. Heinrichs traces the origins of the slave trade in North America and its spread throughout the cotton-producing states, where it generated enormous profits and became the basis for the South's economy. There are brief profiles of courageous abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, as well as active "conductors" such as Thomas Garrett, Harriet Tubman, and Levi Coffin. The diverse illustrations include vintage photographs, engravings depicting slave life, and documents of the slave trade, all of which illuminate the human tragedy. An excellent map points out the major routes that slaves followed.