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jenna4789's review
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Sentences were choppy, maybe not as polished as it could be.
anniejaneb's review
3.0
Why do I keep torturing myself with this author’s books? Her basic premise with this whole series is that if you can’t prove it happened, then it didn’t actually happen.
That is faulty reasoning.
That is faulty reasoning.
lostinausten's review
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.0
An honest look at what the Underground Railroad was really like.
This reminds me of the Pearl Harbor book in the series since it's so all over the place, and barely features the Underground Railroad. I was expecting more about the myths and truths about the journey people went on trying to escape slavery. (And yes, I know there aren't many records due to people protecting one another's privacy, but I still expected more about what they went through or how the system was started, etc). This book tries to cover every aspect about slavery instead of just focusing on the Underground Railroad and it just felt very confusing and scatter brained.
This reminds me of the Pearl Harbor book in the series since it's so all over the place, and barely features the Underground Railroad. I was expecting more about the myths and truths about the journey people went on trying to escape slavery. (And yes, I know there aren't many records due to people protecting one another's privacy, but I still expected more about what they went through or how the system was started, etc). This book tries to cover every aspect about slavery instead of just focusing on the Underground Railroad and it just felt very confusing and scatter brained.
bookgurl488's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
5.0
This book is fantastic. It is so informative and engaging to read. I love the format of real life stories being mixed in with the fight against slavery. I learn so much more about the leaders and people who ran the Underground Railroad. This is a great introductory book about the fight against slavery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Ableism
Moderate: Bullying
readaloud_mom's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
I'm so glad that Gwendolyn Hooks co-authored this book! Unlike some of the earlier History Smashers (which are trying, bless them, but not always hitting the mark), I feel like I can whole-heartedly recommend History Smashers: The Underground Railroad without having to add a bunch of caveats about covert stereotyping. The language used to describe the enslaved seems very carefully chosen, emphasizing their personhood and agency.
This book would work as an introduction to the topics of racism and slavery; there's some re-treading of ground that young readers of books like Stamped (for Kids) might already be familiar with. However, there are also enough additional true stories of courage and adventure (and enough examining primary sources for bias, always my favorite part of this series!) that this book is also worthwhile for kids who are already pretty savvy about the United States' history of racism.
This book would work as an introduction to the topics of racism and slavery; there's some re-treading of ground that young readers of books like Stamped (for Kids) might already be familiar with. However, there are also enough additional true stories of courage and adventure (and enough examining primary sources for bias, always my favorite part of this series!) that this book is also worthwhile for kids who are already pretty savvy about the United States' history of racism.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Racism, Violence, Death, and War