Night Boat to Freedom

Title: Night Boat to Freedom
Author: Margot Theis Raven
Illustrated: E. B. Lewis
Published: Square Fish
Date: December 23, 2008
Summary: Grandma Judith asked her grandson Christmas John to take people on the boat across the river where Ohio is...and freedom.
Age Level: Elementary (Kindergarten to 2nd grade)
Strengths: The water color illustrations were very powerful. It was like a story within a story, that captured powerful emotions. For example, one picture showed a girl holding on to a red cloth that went into the ocean and onto a boat (the red cloth looked a lot like blood in the water). This picture described Grandma Judith's story. She was taken away from her village in Africa when a bunch of men trapped her into following a red cloth onto a ship where she was sold as a slave. I really liked how this was like a memoir of Christmas John when he talked about his past and the job he had to do (getting people safely to the other side of the river, which was very scary at the time). I also liked the communication and the bond between Grandma Judith and Christmas John. I liked how Grandma Judith asked what color people wore when her grandson took them to freedom. Each time he did, his grandma would add on to her quilt another color. At the end, Grandma Judith told her grandson that he should free himself, but he refused to leave her behind. It gives a hopeful message about love and freedom and how everyone is different but special.
Concerns: I guess I really shouldn't say this is a concern, but Christopher John was only 12 when his grandmother asked him to do this. It's at the age where from going from a boy to a man.
Comments: This is also a great story to tell to upper Elementary students (1st or 2nd grade) because they will get a sense of what it was like living during those times. You had to be very careful. It is also a great opportunity for the students to share some family stories that may know (a sense of connection between one another).