If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad

by Ellen Levine, Larry Johnson

If you traveled on the Underground Railroad--Where was the safest place to go?--Would you wear a disguise?--What would you do when you were free?This book tells you what it was like to be a slave trying to escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Childrens, Picture Books, School, Civil War

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Ellen Levine's books have won many awards and honors, including the Jane Addams Peace Award. Although she enjoys writing both fiction and nonfiction, most of Ellen's books for young readers have been nonfiction. "Writing nonfiction lets me in behind the scenes of the story. I enjoy learning new things and meeting new people, even if they lived 200 years ago."

Ellen Levine was born in New York City. She received her B.A. degree in Politics from Brandeis University, graduating Magna cum laude. She has a Master's degree in political science from the University of Chicago and a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law. She has worked in film and television, taught adults and immigrant teenagers in special education and ESL programs, and served a law clerkship with Chief Judge Joseph Lord, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. A former staff attorney with a public interest law group, Levine now devotes her time to writing, lecturing, and teaching. She is on the faculty of Vermont College's MFA program in writing for Children and Young Adults.

Ellen Levine divides her time between New York City and Salem, New York.

Reviews

[Nola Tillman]

I picked up Ellen Levine’s book, “…If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad,” after seeing it suggested for second graders. I found it to be an excellent explanation of the Underground Railroad, providing me with things that I not only forgot I knew but also information that I am sure I didn’t learn in school.

Levine’s format is very interesting. Rather than grouping the information under various headings, she uses a question-and-answer format. I also liked that these questions were listed in a table of contents, something that few books at this level have. Some of the questions and subsets included “Could you buy yourself?” (meaning a slave, of course), “How would you trick the slave hunters?”, and “Was everyone in the North against slavery?”

Levine provides a great deal of information to these questions. She also includes real-life examples. One of them came in the form of some of that “information I never knew” – she tells us how the Underground Railroad got its name. Apparently, a slave named Tice Davids was running from his owner. The owner saw him cross the river, but when he reached the shore, he vanished from sight. After looking for hours, the owner said, “He must have gone on an underground road!” I really enjoyed the narrative form this explanation took (much better than my brief summary), providing enough details to make it come alive, but not so many that you suspect it of being fictionalized. The same is true with various other explanations.

I also really enjoyed the black and white drawings that come in this book – at least, the 1988 version (from what I’ve seen of the newer version, it appears more colorful). These drawings are very detailed and expressive. I especially enjoyed the portrayals of the various examples of hiding places along the underground railroad.

The book is 63 pages long, and has a lot of information on each page, along with the illustrations. My second grade daughter really enjoyed it; when asked what the most interesting part was, she said “everything but the introduction.” (She went on to inform me that introductions are almost always boring, so apparently this is a deep-seated resentment she holds.) She liked the way it was presented, and enjoyed studying the drawings as well as the text.

Levine does an excellent job of capturing the reader’s attention – yes, even if the reader is a grown woman who is supposed to be making lunch for the kids. I have to confess that I had a hard time putting it down. It wouldn’t work as a read-aloud book for restless toddlers, but you may be able to hold the interest of kindergardeners and first graders with it. Overall, a very intriguing and enjoyable book.

[Kimberly]

Absolutely phenomenal.
Many interesting, useful, and thorough facts about being a slave, how slaves escaped, who helped slaves escape, and more.

Good pictures that matched what was being said.

I learned a lot! Even with the research I've already done.

Very recommended.

[Ebookwormy1]

If your child brings you a book and says,
"This book is great! I learned so much! You should read it and write a review to tell everyone about it. It looks like maybe there are other books, too. Can we get more?"

You read it. You write a review. And you tell everyone what makes it excellent.

What makes it excellent?
- Information is given in a concrete and fact based manner. As an educator, I especially appreciated the "Note to the reader about slavery" that proceeded the text. Three paragraphs put slavery in the context of world history, educating children that slavery has been with us a long time (I would have liked an additional sentence that went one step further that slavery is illegal the world over today, but it is still a problem). The map provided in this section gives context to the Atlantic slave trade, helping kids understand where the slaves came from and where they were taken. Well done!

- The table of contents lists the heading question of each page. This helps kids go back and look up information they forgot or need to accurately report in written work.

- While question and answer books play to the author (they get to choose the questions and the answers), this book was laid out in a thorough and conversational manner. My student felt his questions were getting straightforward, concrete answers. The clarity helped make learning fun!

- The text references personal historic examples, giving the person's name, a date, their experience and how it fits in with the text. These examples are not bogged down with citations (Good), but I would have liked to see some references to encourage students to additional research (unfortunate). Students are directed to museums in Cincinatti, OH; Memphis, TN; and Baltimore, MD at the end of the book, leading to the assumption that additional information about the individuals referenced could be found therein.

- I am put off by the tone of the "You wouldn't want to...." series (also by Scholastic). I prefer the educational, fact based tone of these books.

Now to find more of these titles for our home library!

For the educator, I recommend two books that each have a chapter on slavery.
Slavery in America...
The 10 Big Lies about America, Medved, 2008
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Slavery in context of world history...
Race & Culture: A World View, Sowell, 1995
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Alyssa Becker]

If You Traveled On the Underground Railroad; written by: Ellen Levine, illustrated by: Larry Johnson; Copyright 1992, 64 pg.
*Historical Fiction Novel*

This book was a great way to explain and get insight as to what it was like to be a part of the underground railroad at this time. Through the stories of hurt and courage during this time, we see that there was much hardship during this time period for those who were not white skinned. Not only did this book discuss what it is like to be a part of the underground railroad, but it also discusses other themes of slavery during this time period.

I loved the way that this book was set up. It allows students to be able to open the book, look for a particular question they were also wondering, and then read about it. It also allows students to see the perspective of the time period and feelings of those who were affected during this time period. I would put this book in my classroom for as young as first grade. For the younger grades I would read certain parts out loud when discussing the topic of slavery lightly. I would recommend this book for all to read.

[CC]

This book was a good book, it taught me about slave treatment. This book taught me how slaves were sold and they can sell themselves. this book taught me what the Underground railroad was and how it got its name. one thing that really stuck to me was that slaves were able to buy themselves meaning they were able to get freedom papers to be free meaning also no one can buy them

[Julie]

I learned why it was called the Underground Railroad and got some good information about people that I am interested in reading more about. I was more intrigued since passing through the area where Harriet Tubman lived here in MD during our trip this spring (09) with Cindy.

[Deanna Sutter]

This was a good book that led to a discussion about the role of heroes and doing our part in our tiny corner of the universe. I hope that I can become as courageous as those that worked the Underground Railroad.

[Stacy]

This is a book that helps give children an introduction to what slavery was like in America during the time of the Underground Railroad. There are people mentioned in the book, such as Harriet Tubman and Thomas Garrett, in case children want to do some extra research.

[Rossana Villagra]

Excellent! Loved to read aloud with my daughter:)

[Jessica Morgan]

This is a great book to teach children about slavery and the Underground Railroad.

[Ansley Cumberland]

If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad is a book that teaches the ins and outs of slavery and the Civil War as it relates to the Underground Railroad. It explains what the Underground Railroad was, why slaves would run away, where the safe places were to go, and so much more!

I really enjoyed this read! There were so many nuggets of information that I learned, or was reminded of from when I studied this back in elementary school. I loved that this book incorporated stories of names and famous stories into its explanation of those parts of history. I have seen several other books with the title beginning with "If you...", so I think this is part of a larger series of historical informational books!

This entire book is written in the form of paragraphs answering questions, such as "How did the Underground Railroad get its name?" and "When was the best time of year to escape?" Not only would this book be a great recommendation to individual readers interested in the topic, but also to use as a base for classroom discussion while studying the topic in history. Rather than reading the entire book, the teacher could use it as supplemental material by letting the class choose questions they were most curious about. The teacher could then read those sections and use it to further class discussion. The other historical non-fiction books in the series would be helpful in this same way!

[Rachael]

Another interesting read that allows young readers to walk in the footsteps of slaves looking for freedom on the Underground Railroad. It also mentions the story of Solomon Northup (his story is told in more detail in12 Years a Slave) and Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. These books would be excellent reading material for older readers, but definitely not for kids!

On top of that, there were some people mentioned in this book whom I had never heard about, and I love learning about history...

All in all, I found the book enjoyable and I think it could ignite interest in students to learn about the people who traveled this path and how the "Underground Railroad" was discontinued after slavery in America was brought to an end.

[Mike]

As a future teacher I think this book would make a welcomed addition to the classrooms library. This book tells you what it was like to be a slave trying to escape to freedom on the underground railroad. I think that it would be a great way to reach the children when you are discussing the history of America and slavery.

[Debbie]

Chock full of information to discussion with students.

[Tracy Reed]

This was a read-aloud with my fifth-grader and second-grader in our RoadTrip USA homeschool study.

Years later I read it to their siblings (then 5th and 3rd grade) in our study of Early American History.