Book Sharing Monday: Black History Month

Black History Month continues with "The Last Safe House: a Story of the Underground Railroad" by Barbara Greenwood and illustrated by Heather Collins.

This book has two parts that mix together as you go through the book. For a few pages at a time, you follow the story two families, the Jacksons and the Reids, in 1856. The Jacksons are runaway slaves. The other part of the book explains more about the Underground Railroad, but also how slaves came to be slaves, the work they did on plantations, and even illustrated a cotton plantation, explaining the purpose of each building on it. Activities can be found throughout the book too.

Here is a small part of Eliza's story, the young slave that ran away with her family. This part explains the type of work she did when she was on the plantation, in the laundry building:

"Eliza helped by spreading handkerchiefs and collars on the grass to dry and bleach in the sun. She stretched damp stockings over foot-shaped boards to keep them from shrinking."