Eliza's Freedom Road

NOLEN, Jerdine. Eliza s Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary. 160p. map. bibliog. Web sites. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks. 2011. Tr \(14.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-5814-7; ebook \)9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1723-6. LC number unavailable. Gr 4-7 As she turns 12, Eliza is a Virginia house slave, increasingly responsible for the care of the ailing mistress who taught her to read and write. Since Sir sold her mother a year earlier, Eliza has only motherly cook Abbey, the discarded diary Abbey encourages her to write in, and a story quilt her mother made. When the mistress takes Eliza along to stay with family in Maryland, Eliza learns of the Underground Railroad from fellow slaves and a found stack of newspapers containing the serialized Uncle Tom s Cabin. With the help of a shadowy Harriet Tubman herself, Eliza escapes to freedom in Ontario, where by chance she reunites with her mother. Presented as the girl s diary published later by the adult Elizabeth, the narrative suffers from thin characterizations and awkward pacing resulting from sometimes forced pauses to record her mother s stories. Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA “- SLJ February 2011””NOLEN, Jerdine. Eliza’s Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary. 160p. map. bibliog. Web sites. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks. 2011. Tr \(14.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-5814-7; ebook \)9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1723-6. LC number unavailable. Gr 4-7-As she turns 12, Eliza is a Virginia house slave, increasingly responsible for the care of the ailing mistress who taught her to read and write. Since Sir sold her mother a year earlier, Eliza has only motherly cook Abbey, the discarded diary Abbey encourages her to write in, and a story quilt her mother made. When the mistress takes Eliza along to stay with family in Maryland, Eliza learns of the Underground Railroad from fellow slaves and a found stack of newspapers containing the serialized Uncle Tom’s Cabin. With the help of a shadowy Harriet Tubman herself, Eliza escapes to freedom in Ontario, where by chance she reunites with her mother. Presented as the girl’s diary published later by the adult Elizabeth, the narrative suffers from thin characterizations and awkward pacing resulting from sometimes forced pauses to record her mother’s stories. -Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA “- SLJ February 2011”NOLEN, Jerdine. Elizas Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary. 160p. map. bibliog. Web sites. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks. 2011. Tr \(14.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-5814-7; ebook \)9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1723-6. LC number unavailable. Gr 4-7As she turns 12, Eliza is a Virginia house slave, increasingly responsible for the care of the ailing mistress who taught her to read and write. Since Sir sold her mother a year earlier, Eliza has only motherly cook Abbey, the discarded diary Abbey encourages her to write in, and a story quilt her mother made. When the mistress takes Eliza along to stay with family in Maryland, Eliza learns of the Underground Railroad from fellow slaves and a found stack of newspapers containing the serialized Uncle Toms Cabin. With the help of a shadowy Harriet Tubman herself, Eliza escapes to freedom in Ontario, where by chance she reunites with her mother. Presented as the girls diary published later by the adult Elizabeth, the narrative suffers from thin characterizations and awkward pacing resulting from sometimes forced pauses to record her mothers stories. Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA”- SLJ February 2011”“Like the young slave girl who watches a cook ‘stirring tears into…stew,” Nolen stirs Eliza’s sad and frightening diary into a rich, empowering story. There’s enough history here to make this required reading, but the urgency of Eliza’s voice makes this trip back in time a compelling page turner brimming with authentic details. Jerdine Nolen truly brings Eliza to life and puts you right on the road north with her…the road to freedom.“—Pat Cummings

Jerdine Nolen is the beloved author of many award-winning books, including:

• Big Jabe
• Thunder Rose, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
• Hewitt Anderson’s Great Big Life, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year (all illustrated by Kadir Nelson)
• Eliza’s Freedom Road, illustrated by Shadra Strickland, an ALA/YALSA Best Fiction Nominee for Young Adults
• Raising Dragons, illustrated by Elise Primavera, a Christopher Award winner
• Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm, illustrated by Mark Buehner, which was made into a movie
• Calico Girl, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
• Irene’s Wish, illustrated by A.G. Ford, which Kirkus Reviews called “delightful and memorable” in a starred review

Ms. Nolen is an educator and lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Shadra Strickland was raised in Atlanta. She graduated from Syracuse University and later completed her MFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Shadra won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her illustrations in her first picture book, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Strickland co-illustrated Our Children Can Soar, written by Michelle Cook and winner of a 2010 NAACP Image Award. She has published with Lee and Low Books, Simon & Schuster, Random House, Candlewick, Chronicle Books, and Little Brown. Her books have received recognition from the American Library Association, Junior Library Guild, and other prominent literary lists. Shadra currently heads the illustration department at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland.