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    Almost to Freedom
    Almost to Freedom
    Almost to Freedom
    Ebook43 pages1 hour

    Almost to Freedom

    By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and Colin Bootman

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Lindy and her doll Sally are best friends - wherever Lindy goes, Sally stays right by her side. They eat together, sleep together, and even pick cotton together. So, on the night Lindy and her mama run away in search of freedom, Sally goes too. This young girl's rag doll vividly narrates her enslaved family's courageous escape through the Underground Railroad. At once heart-wrenching and uplifting, this story about friendship and the strength of the human spirit will touch the lives of all readers long after the journey has ended.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLerner Publishing
    Release dateNov 1, 2013
    ISBN9781467737579
    Almost to Freedom
    Author

    Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

    Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is the author of The Book Itch, as well as three Coretta Scott King Award-winning books: No Crystal Stair, Bad News for Outlaws, and Almost to Freedom. She is a former youth services librarian in New Mexico. Visit her online at vaundanelson.com.

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    Reviews for Almost to Freedom

    4.5/5

    67 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This story comes from the homemade doll that a slave girls mama made. The doll witnesses some terrible things and then during the escape to freedom becomes left behind at a safe-house. There is good news though for the doll and the little girl. Time period illustrations and Authors note about the doll. Historical words and phrases review on last page.
    • 5/5
      Summary:This book is very interesting! It is about a little girl and her family in slavery. The little girl, Lindy, had a doll her mom had sewn for her. In this book, the doll, Sally, tells the story of the family and how the family started on the Underground Railroad.Personal Reaction:I thought this book was very interesting and had awesome illustrations. This book was written in grammer that slaves probably used because they were deprived of an education.Classroom Extensions:#1: I would have the children journal about their feelings about the book right after I read it to them, to get their immediate reaction.#2: I would have the children discuss the meanings of some of the words used in the book that they may not understand. #3: I would use this book as a supplement to a social studies lesson on the underground railroad.
    • 4/5
      Genre: Historical FictionThis book is a good example of historical fiction because the story accurately portrays the time period and the fictional characters. The family is in slavery and they escape using the underground railroad, as told through the eyes of the little girl's rag-doll. Critique: Setting
    • 4/5
      Personal Response: Vaunda explained in an author's note, she was inspired to write this story by a folk art museum's exhibit of black rag dolls. They were discovered in Underground Railroad hideouts. This stroy surely gave a good sense of the feelings the characters were feeling.Curricular or Programming Connections: Slavery, Underground Railroad, African-American
    • 5/5
      Genre: Historical Fiction/FantasyAppropriate Age: IntermediateMedia: Acrylic PaintingSummary:A doll tells the story of how she was created, given to a young girl named Lindy, and carried around the fields with the slaves. The doll saw the slaves work, struggle, and enjoy time with one another. The doll, Sally, saw them flogged, and ran away with them to earn freedom from slavery. Once in a safehouse, Sally feels safe and excited for freedom, but slave-catchers arrived and the little girl left Sally in the safehouse by accident. Later, Sally meets a new young girl and becomes her doll, and is renamed Belinda. The doll hopes that she can finally gain freedom. This story is a wonderful interpretation and rendition of a representation of slavery in the United States and the Underground Railroad. The author got the idea for the story when she went to a museum of the Underground Railroad and saw many of the dolls that were said to have been used by slave children for comfort. This information was presented clearly in the back of the book for background information.
    • 5/5
      This would be a good book for all ages. It teaches about the loneliness and the help of good people on the Underground Railroad. This would be a good book to read during black history month or while learning about the underground railroad.
    • 3/5
      Genre: Realistic FictionAge Appropriateness: Primary/IntermediateReview: This book is a good example of realistic fiction because the narrative presents a true depiction of what life was like for slaves. The story is of a young girl's escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad. It is a heart-wrenching and encouraging story about friendship, strength, and courage. Readers are more aware of the life of the slaves and why they wanted to escape to the North.Media: This book is a good example of ink and wash media because the illustrations blend well together and have even flow. There is a transparent effect on the pictures too with the multiple coats.Characterization: Lindy is a dynamic character because she undergoes an important, internal change while escaping to the North for freedom. She develops courage and trust as she embarks on this risky escape with her mother.
    • 4/5
      Much history is learned in the telling of this story. Wonderful illustrations.
    • 5/5
      “Almost to Freedom” was an excellent book, unlike any that I have ever read before. I liked the book for the storyline but mostly I liked it for the way in which it was written. The story was written from the perspective of a little slave girl’s doll, named Sally. Sally recounts her life with her owner, named Lindy, and their journey to freedom. Sally describes Lindy’s life and the cruelty she faces as a slave. However, one day Lindy’s family escapes and finds refuge in the cellar of a white family who agrees to hide them before they journey to the Underground Railroad. When slave catchers raid the house Lindy’s family is staying in, they flee, mistakenly leaving Sally behind. Sally then lives many years alone and lonely in the white family’s cellar until a new family of slaves on the run appear, and a little girl adopts Sally as her own doll. Sally delights in this and says, “I’s mighty glad to be Willa’s doll baby. It’s a right important job.” Not only did I like that the story was written from the perspective of a doll, I also liked how Sally spoke. Sally’s dialect was exactly how slaves would have been during that time period. She said things like, “I started out no more’n a bunch of rags on a Virginia plantation. Lindy’s mama was my maker. Miz Rachel done a fine job puttin’ me together, takin’ extra time to sew my face on real careful with thread, embroidery they call it.” Because Sally spoke this way it made what she had to say very realistic, heightening the authenticity of the book. I believe the main idea of; “Almost to Freedom” was to give readers a very realistic recounting of the hardships and cruelties slaves faced from the perspective of a very unique narrator. In the author’s note the author describes her inspiration for writing, “Almost to Freedom.” She says that she was visiting the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico and came across a display of black rag dolls from the 1800s and 1900s. She said the dolls immediately caught her attention and was told many of them were found in one of the hideouts of the Underground Railroad, suggesting their use by black children. Her husband told her that there was a story in that and she thought, “if only those dolls could talk.” This is exactly what the author did and how she created the main idea of her story. She gave life to an inanimate object that probably saw it all and comforted many scared children. Sally was the perfect narrator for such a heroic story and gave an honest and open portrayal of what the life of a slave might actually be like.
    • 4/5
      This Coretta Scott King award-winning book teaches about the underground railroad. Told from the unique perspective of a hand-made doll, called Sally by her owner Lindy, Sally witnesses the beating of the young girl who is her owner. The doll also tells the tale of Lindy's father who is severely beaten when he tries to escape and find a way for his family to become connected to the underground railroad.The story gives credit to white people who risked their property and lives by helping those who desperately need to flee from the brutal life of long days working in the fields picking cotton with no water and very little food, and the harsh treatment by those who claim to "own" those who work for them.When the ability for the family to flee occurs, they are almost discovered in the cellar of those who are helping them. In rushing to escape, the doll is left behind. Later, another young girl whose family is also finding freedom by the help of kind people who run the "railroad" to freedom in the northern states.
    • 5/5
      Summary: Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson tells the story of how Lindy and her family live as slaves picking cotton on a Virginia plantation, and how they escape through the Underground Railroad. The story is told through the eyes of Lindy’s doll Sally. The doll tells of how she was made by Lindy’s mother “Miz Rachel”, given to Lindy, and how she was taken everywhere with Lindy. The doll tells of how they picked cotton, how the “Massa” treated them, and how they escape through the night and made their way to the Underground Railroad. Sally gets left behind in an escape from the safe house by accident, and later retrieved by another girl who names her Belinda. The author uses the language of African-American slaves to make the story more real. The dark vivid illustrations help tell the story. The author’s notes tell of her inspiration for the story, and what is fact and what is fiction. The book gives a historical account of the Underground Railroad.Personal reaction: I thought it was really unique to tell the story from the doll’s point of view. I don’t recall ever reading anything told from this perspective. Although Sally doesn’t know what the people think and feel, you get it from the doll’s descriptions, and the books illustrations to know what is going on in the story. I would recommend this book not only for the content, but also the unique experience of the story being told by the doll.Classroom extension: 1. I would use this book in a study about slavery. The students could tell about a time they had to escape from something. 2. This book could also be used during Black History Month. 3. Another use for this book could be agriculture, plantations, and the American South.
    • 2/5
      A story of the Underground Railroad, told from the perspectve of a child traveler's doll. The fact that this story is told through the eyes of the doll can make it more relatable to children. Perhaps they can’t imagine life as a slave, but they can relate to the love between a child and her toy. At the same time, though, this distances the reader from the danger occurring as she is not exposed to the young girl’s fear, just the doll’s fear, a step removed. At one point, it is mentioned that the girl’s father has been taken away. Normally, this would be anxiety-provoking, but because of this step removed approach, this is not so emotional. The different point of view also allows the glossing over of the entire plot. Because the doll does not directly experience slavery or the escape for freedom, the reader does not get the full experience of these events. The pictures, full of saturated colors and looking almost like paintings, do add to this, giving the story a depth that the text doesn’t. These images tell more than the words, showing the sadness and loneliness felt. However, they don’t completely make up for the lack. While the story has potential, in the end, it misses the mark.

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    Almost to Freedom - Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

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