Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky (ISBN 0785784837)

A Magical Trip on the Underground Railroad.....:
"One day, my brother Be Be and I were flying among the stars, way way up, so far up the mountains looked like pieces of rock candy and the oceans like tiny cups of tea. We came across an old ramshackled train in the sky." So begins Cassie Louise Lightfoot's tale of meeting "conductor" Harriet Tubman and riding the underground railroad to Canada. Based on Harriet Tubman's account of a dream she had while very sick, of flying to freedom and enhanced with historical facts and imagination, Faith Ringgold has authored a superb story that transports youngsters back to the slave holding plantations of the south, over one hundred years ago, and then sends them on a terrifying, yet exhilarating journey to freedom. Her engaging poetic text, full of imagery and magic, is complemented by her bold, expressive, evocative illustrations and together, word and art bring this emotional story to life. With additional biographical notes and map, tracing the underground railroad routes, included to augment lessons and discussions, Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad In The Sky is a masterpiece youngsters 6-10 shouldn't miss and a wonderful addition to all home libraries.

An excellent book:
This book is fantastic - its illustrations are haunting and lovely, and the story is magical and historical at the same time. Faith Ringgold's approach makes the history simpler for children to understand while not undermining the depth and horror of slavery in America. I highly recommend it to any parent.

maybe not so good for 1st and 2nd graders:
I love Faith Ringgold's work but think Tar Beach might be a more appropriate title for younger students. I read it aloud to some younger children (first and second grade) and didn't think the book was appropriate for them. There are some strange moments in the plot (and I realize the book is supposed to be surreal and dream-like). For example, Be be writes Cassie a note that says "We stayed at the house of a millionaire. He gave Aunt Harriet lots of money. We will never be hungry again." I'm not sure if this is supposed to reflect a real event in Tubman's life (I know she went on to become a Union spy but not many other biographical details) or if it's supposed to illustrate the value of charity and kindness of the people who helped escaped slaves, but it certainly does little for the narrative. While it's true that slaves had no money and runaway slaves would face economic hardships even in the free states, I'm just not sure how this plot twist fits into the book, especially because it is never mentioned again. Another issue is that there is a scary white figure lurking in many of the illustrations--peering through a window, popping out in a graveyard. His presence definitely brings attention to the bounty hunters that would capture slaves and the danger that lurked all around, but my students didn't seem to grasp that Cassie re-lives the time of slavery. I tried the "maybe the train is like a time-machine?" tact, too. No luck. It was a fun book and my students did like the flying=freedom metaphor but I would use it with older students next time!

An imaginative journey based on historical information:
This well written children's book recounts the story of slavery in an easy to understand langugage with corresponding pictures. The pictures are primitively done with paint and canvas, but are detailed and represent drawings from that time period. The overall story draws in historical aspects of a time period using actual information that every child shoud be aware of. Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky portrays life as a slave from the viewpoint of someone who lives in the that life and compares their hardships to our life today. For furthor reading,at the book there is biographical information about Harriet Tubman and a map of the Underground Railroad in 1880. Young readers can see that although this story is fiction, it is based on real events.

Great learning tool:
I have purchased this book as a learning tool for an Education Committee at our local quilter's guild. This book is well written and wonderful for young people.