Almost to Freedom

Almost to Freedom is written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Colin Bootman.

Picture Book

3rd Grade

3 out of 5

Almost to Freedom is written from the perspective of a young girl's doll. The story is about the girl's escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad.

I think that this book is really cute. I liked it because it was written from the doll's, Sally's, perspective which does not happen in many books. You were able to see and hear about the girl, Lindy, and her family's situation from the outside looking in. However, I did feel like it was hard to connect with the doll because she is not a real person. I also liked this book because many people can relate to the connection they may have with a toy or inanimate object like Lindy and Sally had. I think that the pictures in this book are beautiful. They were dim but still managed to be vivid. The shading on the faces of the people was perfect and very realistic. I wish that the book would have ended with Lindy and Sally being reunited so that I would have known if Sally made it to safety in the north.

I think that this book could be kept in the classroom library or as a book to go along with teaching about slavery. However, I do not think it is a good book to read as a class or use to directly teach about slavery because the book is not very informational and does not teach a lot about the Underground Railroad or slavery. It just mainly tells a story of a relationship between a doll and a slave girl.