Author: Allison Lassieur
Title: The Underground Railroad
Illustrator: This book doesn't have an illustrator, but it does have historic pictures taken in the 1800s.
Genre: Chapter Book
Subgenre: Historic fiction
Theme: How life would be if (you) as the reader was born during slavery.
Primary and Secondary Characters: It is in the point of view of (you) as the reader. The reader makes the decisions and lives the life of a slave.
Date of Publication: 2008
Publishing Company: Capstone Press
This book helps (you) as the reader live life as a slave during the 1850's. This book is written to (you) as the reader, and the reader has to make decisions throughout the book. The decisions that the reader makes can change the outcome of the slaves life. For instance, in the book you have to chose if you will stay with your momma with your former master or if you will flee with your papa. The decision is hard and unthinkable, but these are the types of decisions that slave children had to make. If you chose to stay with your momma you will end up getting sold and leaving your momma. If you chose to go with your dad you have to make other choices. In going with your dad you both are fugitives and have to hide and travel at night, so nobody will see you. You both run across this white man. Do you chose to ask him for help or not? If you ask him for help you both will get captured and sent back to your masters, because he is a trap for run away slaves. If you chose not to ask him for help and continue you will both stumble upon a lake. On this lake there is a man in a boat. Do you chose to as him for help of not? If you chose to ask him for help he will take you to a house that helps slaves, and is part of the underground railroad. There you will get sleep, food, and help. The next day you and your father will venture off to Canada with help from the Underground Railroad. In Canada you both will be free, because in Canada it is illegal to own slaves. Your father will buy land, grow crops and try to earn enough money to one day buy your mother and your baby brother.
I will read this book to my students, and let them chose which path they want to take. Then I can read it again and try another path to see where it takes us. I can relate this book and the many different choices and paths to how it really was for slaves during this time. The decisions that they made could lead to them being sold, death, or even them getting beat. This book will help my students relate to what slaves had to go threw and how horrible they were treated.
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