While reading this story and engaging in a fun learning activity, young readers will build reading skills, develop critical thinking skills, and make connections between characters in stories and real people.

■ Slavery: the practice of owning people as property.

■ Underground Railroad: secret routes and methods that slaves took to escape to freedom.

This book had lyrical and poetic text with beautiful illustrations. Have students’ construct their own poems with an illustration to go with it. The students could pick one scene in the story and write a poem in their own words using the book for inspiration. Compile the poems together to make a book published by the class.

Underground Railroad Maps:

• https://www.loc.gov/item/75696204/
• https://www.loc.gov/item/75696205/