Overview
You are slave in the 1850s, trying to escape your harsh life, OR..., You are a slave catcher hoping to get rich catching escaped slaves, OR..., You are part of the Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape to freedom. Everything in this book happened to real people. And You Choose which side you're on and what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to freedom, capture, survival, or death. In You Choose Books, only You can Choose the path you take through history. What will it be?Synopsis
You are slave in the 1850s, trying to escape your harsh life, OR..., You are a slave catcher hoping to get rich catching escaped slaves, OR..., You are part of the Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape to freedom. Everything in this book happened to real people. And You Choose which side you're on and what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to freedom, capture, survival, or death. In You Choose Books, only You can Choose the path you take through history. What will it be?
School Library Journal
Gr 3-7- This volume has "3 Story Paths, 37 Choices, 16 Endings" to give children an interactive reading experience and varied outcomes. The text is short and has a somewhat robotic tone. Readers can be a runaway slave, a slave catcher, or an abolitionist. If they opt for the first choice, they are instructed to turn to page 13 to continue the story. There they find out that their father wants to escape, but their mother wants to stay behind. Now readers must decide whether to remain with one parent or go with the other. The text exclaims, "What a terrible choice!" Good point. Perhaps this is not the best topic for the series. After all, most slaves' options were not really good ones, so the story is somewhat of an exercise in futility. Throughout the book, reproductions of photos and illustrations from the period make the information visually appealing. Underground Railroad offers some historically accurate details but the choice of theme coupled with stilted writing makes it a limited purchase.-Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY
Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 3-7- This volume has "3 Story Paths, 37 Choices, 16 Endings" to give children an interactive reading experience and varied outcomes. The text is short and has a somewhat robotic tone. Readers can be a runaway slave, a slave catcher, or an abolitionist. If they opt for the first choice, they are instructed to turn to page 13 to continue the story. There they find out that their father wants to escape, but their mother wants to stay behind. Now readers must decide whether to remain with one parent or go with the other. The text exclaims, "What a terrible choice!" Good point. Perhaps this is not the best topic for the series. After all, most slaves' options were not really good ones, so the story is somewhat of an exercise in futility. Throughout the book, reproductions of photos and illustrations from the period make the information visually appealing. Underground Railroad offers some historically accurate details but the choice of theme coupled with stilted writing makes it a limited purchase.-Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY