1. McDonough, Y.Z. (2013). What was the Underground Railroad?

New York, NY: Grosset and

Dunlap.
This book describes slavery in the United States and discusses how the Underground Railroad
was not an actual railroad, instead it was the name given to slaves who were helped to their
safety. The book provides information on some of the most famous slaves who escaped, and
some famous people who helped them. This book has excellent illustrations, such as maps of the
United States which show which states had slaves, and which states were free from slavery. The
book also provides a map which shows the escape routes. The book also provides a timeline of
the Underground Railroad and a timeline of historical world events which happened at the same
time.
2. McDonough, Y.Z. (2002). Who was Harriet Tubman? New York, NY: Grosset and Dunlap.
This biography explains who Harriet Tubman was and how she became famous for escaping
slavery and then helping slaves gain freedom on the Underground Railroad. The book details
Harriets early life as a slave, how she escaped to freedom, and how she became famous for her
role in the Underground Railroad. The book also provides brief details about other famous
people who helped on the Underground Railroad. The book finishes by providing a timeline of
Harriet Tubmans life and a timeline of historical world events which happened at the same time.
3. McDonough, Y.Z. (2002). Who Was Sojourner Truth? New York, NY: Grosset and Dunlap.
This biography explains how Sojourner Truth became famous. The book starts by detailing her
early life as a slave, before explaining how she escapes to freedom. After escaping to freedom
she changed her name to Sojourner Truth, and she traveled giving inspirational speeches. Her

most famous speech was titled, Aint I a Woman? The book provides two timelines one of
Sojourner Truths life and one of historical world events which happened at the same time.
4. Prince, A.J. (2014). Who was Frederick Douglass? New York, NY: Grosset and Dunlap.
This biography describes the life of Frederick Douglass who is famous for escaping slavery and
giving speeches about slavery. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery and secretly taught
himself to read and write. He escaped when he was twenty years old, and gave speeches about
his experiences as a slave. His speeches were so notable that he became friends with President
Abraham Lincoln. The book provides many excellent illustrations, and has a timeline of
Frederick Douglasss life.
Poetry
5. Shange, N. (2012). Freedoms a-calling Me. Texas, TX: Amistad.
Award winning poet Ntazake Shang and artist Rod Brown reimagine the journeys of the brave
men and women who made their way to freedom on the Underground Railroad (description from
www.amazon.com).
6. Grady, C., & Wood, M. (2012). I lay my stitches down: Poems of American slavery. Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
This rich and intricate collection of poems chronicles the various experiences of American
slaves. Drawn together through imagery drawn from quilting and fiber arts, each poem is spoken
from a different perspective: a house slave, a mother losing her daughter to the auction block, a
blacksmith, a slave fleeing on the Underground Railroad.
This moving and eloquent set of poems, brought to life by vivid and colorful artwork from

Michele Wood, offers a timeless witness to the hardship endured by America's slaves. Each poem
is supplemented by a historical note. (description from www.amazon.com).
Traditional Literature
7. Foner, E. (2015). Gateway to Freedom. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
Forner argues that the Underground Railroad wasnt just a noble humanitarian enterprise, but a
movement that significantly fanned the flames of sectional conflict and helped set off the war
itself (description taken from www.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/books/eric-foner-revisits-myths-ofthe-underground-railroad.html).
8. Zabel, D. (2004). The (Underground) Railroad in African American literature. New York, NY:
P. Lang.
The (Underground) Railroad in African American Literature offers a brief history of the African
American experience of the railroad and the uses of railroad history by a wide assortment of
twentieth-century African American poets, dramatists, and fiction writers. Moreover, this literary
history examines the ways in which trains, train history, and legendary train figures such as
Harriet Tubman and John Henry have served as literary symbols. This repeated use of the train
symbol and associated train people in twentieth-century African American literature creates a
sense of literary continuity and a well-established aesthetic tradition all too frequently
overlooked in many traditional approaches to the study of African American writing. The
metaphoric possibilities associated with the railroad and the persistence of the train as a literary
symbol in African American writing demonstrates the symbols ongoing literary value for
twentieth-century African American writers - writers who invite their readers to look back at the
various points in history where America got off track, and who also dare to invite their readers to
imagine an alternate route for the future. (description from www.amazon.com).

Fantasy Picture Book

9. Ringgold, F. (1992). Aunt Harriets Underground Railroad in the Sky. New York, NY: Crown
Publishers Inc.
In this fantasy fiction picture book, the main character, Cassie, soars into the sky with her
brother, Bebe. They come across a train full of people, and BeBe climbs aboard but the train
leaves before Cassie has a chance to climb aboard. Soon, Cassie meets Harriet Tubman, who
guides her through the Underground Railroad, finds out about escaping slaves, and finally
reunites with her brother (description taken from www.amazon.com).
10. Zabel, D. (2004). The (Underground) Railroad in African American literature. New York,
NY: P. Lang.
Virginia Hamilton's Coretta Scott King Honor book is the breathtaking fantasy tale of slaves who
possessed ancient magic that enabled them to fly away to freedom. And it is a moving tale of
those who did not have the opportunity to fly away, who remained slaves with only their
imaginations to set them free as they told and retold this tale.
Leo and Diane Dillon's powerful illustrations accompany Hamilton's voice as it sings out from
the pages with the soaring cadences that echo the story tellers of her childhood as the
granddaughter of a fugitive slave. (description taken from www.amazon.com).
Historical Fiction
11. Kulling, M. (2000). Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman. New York, NY: Random
House Books for Young Readers.
A re-telling of Harriet Tubmans life that is an easy chapter book read for middle to late
elementary. It shares her childhood experience with slavery to how she becomes a spy in the

Civil War. It showcases one of Americas greatest female role models (description taken for
www.amazon.com).
12. Robbins, T., & Millet, J. (2008). Freedom songs: A tale of the Underground Railroad.
Minneapolis, MN: Stone Arch Books.
Fourteen-year-old Sarah is a slave in Maryland during the 1850s. She knows her only chance at
freedom is to head north, where slavery is illegal. To get there, though, Sarah needs help from
members of the Underground Railroad. But who can she trust? (description taken for
www.amazon.com).
13. Ruby, L. (1999). Steal away home. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.
When twelve-year-old Dana Shannon starts to strip away wallpaper in her family's old house,
she's unprepared for the surprise that awaits her. A hidden room -- containing a human skeleton!
How did such a thing get there? And why was the tiny room sealed up?
With the help of a diary found in the room, Dana learns her house was once a station on the
Underground Railroad. The young woman whose remains Dana discovered was Lizbet Charles,
a conductor and former slave. As the scene shifts between Dana's world and 1856, the story of
the families that lived in the house unfolds. But as pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place,
one haunting question remains -- why did Lizbet Charles die? (description taken for
www.amazon.com).
Biography
14. Clinton, C. (2005). Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom. New York, NY: Back Bay
Books.

Showcases who Harriet Tubman was to many different people. She was General Tubman to
many, Moses to the slaves she led up north, and a prophet to abolitionists. She was also a thief
and trickster. Well-developed research revealed in a complex, singular character (description
taken from goodreads.com).
15. Pinkney, A. D., & Pinkney, J. B. (2009). Sojourner Truth's step-stomp stride. New York, NY:
Disney/Jump at the Sun Books.
Born into slavery, Belle had to endure the cruelty of several masters before she escaped to
freedom. But she knew she wouldn't really be free unless she was helping to end injustice. That's
when she changed her name to Sojourner and began traveling across the country, demanding
equal rights for black people and for women. Many people weren't ready for her message, but
Sojourner was brave, and her truth was powerful. And slowly, but surely as Sojourner's stepstomp stride, America began to change. (description taken for www.amazon.com).
Non Fiction Picture Book
16. Grimes, N. (2015). Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B.
Anthony. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.
In this book, the author imagines a conversation between Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony
if they had sat down for an afternoon tea. It describes the struggles and triumphs of these
womens fight for civil rights.
17. Evans, S. (2015). Underground: Finding the light to freedom. New York, NY: Square
Fish/Roaring Brook Press.

A family silently crawls along the ground. They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath
bushes, and take shelter in a kind stranger's home. Where are they heading? They are heading for
Freedom by way of the Underground Railroad. (description taken for www.amazon.com).
Biography Picture Book
18. Adler, D. (1993). A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman. New York, NY: Holiday House.
Biography of the black woman who escaped from slavery to become famous as a conductor on
the Underground Railroad (summary taken from www.amazon.com).
19. Adler, D. A., & Griffith, G. (1994). A picture book of Sojourner Truth. New York, NY:
Holiday House.
She became an abolitionist and crusader for African-American rights. (description taken for
www.amazon.com).
Autobiography
20. McKissack, P. (1997). A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl. New York,
NY: Scholastic Inc.
In 1859, twelve-year-old Clotee, a house slave who must conceal the fact that she can read and
write, records in her diary her experiences and her struggle to decide whether to escape to
freedom (summary taken from www.amazon.com).
Fiction
21. Hopkinson, D. (1993). Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. New York, NY: Alfred A. Kopf.
As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on
another plantation--and even of running away to freedom. Then she overhears two slaves talking

about the Underground Railroad. In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in
her scrap bag to make a map of the land--a freedom quilt--that no master will ever suspect.
(Summary taken from www.amazon.com).
22. Hopkinson, D. (2002). Under the Quilt of Night. New York, NY: Aladdin Publishing.
Traveling late one night, a runaway slave girl spies a quilt hanging outside a house. The quilt's
center is a striking deep blue -- a sign that the people inside are willing to help her escape. Can
she bravely navigate the complex world of the Underground Railroad and lead her family to
freedom?

Non-Fiction Picture Book

23. Levine, E. (2007). Henrys Freedom box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad. New
York, NY: Scholastic Inc.
Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the
time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from
his family and put to work in a warehouse. Henry grows up and marries, but he is again
devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the
warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an
arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.
24. Hopkinson, D., & Ransome, J. (1995). Sweet Clara and the freedom quilt. New York, NY:
Dragonfly Books.

As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on
another plantation--and even of running away to freedom. Then she overhears two slaves talking
about the Underground Railroad. In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in
her scrap bag to make a map of the land--a freedom quilt--that no master will ever suspect.
(Summary taken from www.amazon.com).
25. Cline-Ransome, L. (2012). Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass.
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books.
The inspirational, true story of how Frederick Douglass found his way to freedom one word at a
time.
This picture book biography chronicles the youth of Frederick Douglass, one of the most
prominent African American figures in American history. Douglass spent his life advocating for
the equality of all, and it was through reading that he was able to stand up for himself and others.
Award-winning husband-wife team Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome present a
moving and captivating look at the young life of the inspirational man who said, I would unite
with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong. (Summary taken from Amazon.com).