What Was the Underground Railroad? by Yona Zeldis McDonough

What Was the Underground Railroad? Reviews

• 
  Janete on hiatus due health issues

  Actually, 4,5 stars. A very informative and interesting children's book especially for a foreigner who is learning English.
• 
  Mariah Roze

  I love reading the "Who Was..." and "What Was…" books, even as an adult. This story was really interesting and I learned about some people (who I had never heard of before) that escaped slavery. One person escaped by being mailed in a giant box to the North. Also, I had no idea how involved Quakers were in helping people escape slavery. That is something you never read about.
  
  I planned to read a lot more of these books :)
• 
  Heather

  Alright
  
  Since not much is known about the underground railroad because it's operation was kept so secret, this book gives some stories of people who escaped slavery and those who helped them escape. Pretty good
• 
  Sundee Perkins

  I thought this book was really interesting. Not only did it give an understanding about the Underground Railroad, as well as historians understand it, but it also spoke about the people who were part of it. I knew about Harriet Tubman and the Quakers, but there were so many other conductors and safehouses I had never heard of. Also, unlike most of the other WhoHQ books I've read, this one included actual photographs as well as illustrations, which really helped cement the history for me.
• 
  Kelly MC

  I read this one aloud to my students and I thought it did an excellent job of discussing the Underground Railroad in a way that was easy for young readers to understand. I liked that if focused on specific people and their journeys.
• 
  Chase

  I liked reading this book. I like how it includes maps, and how it had actual pictures in the center of the book of Harriet Tubman and others. The black and white drawings in the book were really clear. It had interesting chapters about the slaves who escaped. I wanted to keep reading it, so I read it over and over again and had some good conversations with my parents afterward.
• 
  Jocelin

  Incredibly informative and easy to read.
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  Rosa

  Wow! Either I did not pay attention in school or we didn't cover half of what was covered in this book.
• 
  Lizzie

  This book gives you a lot of interesting information about the Underground Railroad and includes pictures and a map to show different routes to freedom. I defiantly recommend this book:)
• 
  Emily

  I labeled this book as inspirational as part of its tags because I truly found this book to be filled with courageous people! The Underground Railroad reminded me of reading The Hiding Place with the element of danger and the struggle to survive and escape. These people had to rely on hidden messages and signals and people of good faith willing to risk getting in trouble as well if they were caught. And yet people went above and beyond to help others.
  
  Harriet Tubman, indeed, deserves her own book for her years of dedication. I already knew about Frederick Douglass, but I also learned about Henry "Box" Brown and Ellen and William Craft. Henry actually shipped himself in a box to escape slavery. I won't reveal what the Crafts did because I don't want to ruin their story, but they later ran a school for poor people, adopted children, and even paid for weddings for black couples. That is truly inspiring! I could go on, but I can't list everyone because there are too many good accounts; I just highly recommend you check this book out whether you are an adult or young kid. This has probably been one of my favorite Who Was/What Was/Where Is books so far. I also feel compelled to check out Uncle Tom's Cabin after this quick read reminded me of its historical significance. I appreciated how the author discussed this along with the Civil War and the after effects from segregation to Obama's presidency. Lastly, there are 16 pages of photos that include several portraits, maps of the Underground Railroad, and newspaper and slave auction postings. Consequently, I am thinking of purchasing this book myself for a quick reference to the testimonies of these inspiring people!
  
  In case you are interested in learning more about Henry "Box" Brown, here is a website with more information:
  http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/show...
• 
  David

  What Was the Underground Railroad by Yona McDonough is a well-written factually-loaded book about the lives of slaves in America and particularly the American South where slavery was still maintained even after it had been abolished in the Northern States. It describes how escaped slaves made their way to the north and sometimes into Canada or to other countries to avoid recapture and being returned to their masters. The people along the way were organized to hide them and aid them on their way to freedom from one stop to the next in what became known as the Underground Railroad. Slaves who were caught were severely punished and then returned but those who hid them and helped them escape were also heavily fined and even put in prison so it was a very risky thing they were doing. Intended for a youth audience but also a quick read for anyone who wants to get the basic facts.
• 
  Taun

  We (students) give this book 4.5 stars. This book is short, but has a lot to it. There’s accounts of different people, like Harriet Tubman & Henry ‘Box’ Brown, who were former slaves who had run away.
  
  This book taught me that slavery is wrong, people are not to be owned. Runaway slaves were sometimes caught by slave catchers and were sent back to their owners, often to be beat in front of the other slaves as a warning. Running away was dangerous.
  
  We learned that the Underground Railroad was not a railroad, but it was a series of safe houses, called stations. Conductors were the people that led runaways to freedom, some of those conductors were former slaves. They used blankets & lamps as signs, false walls and floor panels in safe houses to hide runaways. The journey was always very dangerous and very hard.
• 
  Amity

  Kaye and I enjoyed reading this book. I imagine that I am less cautious than some other parents about making history palatable for my daughter. While I really enjoyed learning about specific stories and the logistics of the underground railroad, I would have liked the book to more explicit in speaking about slavery and the racism that has permeated the US from the very beginning. I cried dear the end and had to explain to Kaye how deeply sad it makes me that equality is still an ideal that many people don't see as possible or important. We talked about the need for the Black Lives Matter Movement and the refusal of some to see the sociohistoric links that perpetuate racism, both structural and unconscious, today.
• 
  Abbey

  This series continues to impress me with its ability to communicate incredible amounts of information is digestible format for a huge range of ages and mindsets. This particular book tells not just a general history of the Underground Railroad, but also devotes 3 chapters to 3 different individuals on the Underground Railroad and their experiences before, during and after their escapes from slavery. That includes Harriet Tubman, who has her own Who Was book.
  
  The books are written with an objective compassion that is friendly to a child's way of thinking about the world. Without being saccharine or overly sentimental, a child will understand that wretchedness that came with slavery and the unthinkable acts visited upon the slaves.
• 
  Stacy

  I read this book to my 3rd grader as we are studying this subject. This book explains what the Underground Railroad was, how difficult life was for slaves, briefly describes what an abolitionist was, and then tells the story of several slaves that made their way to freedom with help from The Underground Railroad. It also ends with a short chapter about Martin Luther King who fought for equal civil rights.
  
  I was disappointed in chapter 8 as this chapter tells the story of Ellen Craft. This chapter points out that Plantation owners sometimes had children with their own slaves. Ellen was a product of this situation. I was not prepared to read this to my son and I was a bit shocked by it. So just beware of this at the beginning of chapter 8!!
• 
  Ellie Redman

  This was the Informational book I read in tandem with the picture book Sweet Clara and the Freedom quilt. After reading that book I became super interested in the Underground railroad and decided to read more! I really enjoyed this book and I was able to learn so much about the underground rail road. One of my favorite things about this book is that it included around 16 pages of pictures that was able to bring the Underground rail road to life. This book also talked about bounty hunters and how they affected the slaves who were trying to run away. I would really like to read more of these books!
• 
  Marie

  "What Was the Underground Railroad?" is a well written and interesting middle reader about the history of slavery in the US and some of the means used to escape slavery. Along with the general history of slavery and what is known of the underground railroad, the book includes several individuals' stories of escape and escape enabling.
  
  I read this out loud to my six-year-old after he took an interest in the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" at a music recital and wanted to know what it was about. An explanation of the drinking gourd is given in this book.
• 
  David Rough

  I would recommend a reading of this book in either a paper copy or an ebook. I listened to it as an audiobook and I missed the illustrations (80 throughout the book) and a 16-page photo insert – these visuals would have increased the effectiveness of the material. However, even as an audiobook, I appreciated the stories of the conductors and the passengers on this creative path to freedom. Blacks and whites, slaves and free, working together for freedom and redemption. The railroad was a bright spot in the darkness of dominance, cruelty, and suppression of slavery in our country.
• 
  Rick Silva

  A history of the Underground Railroad for young readers. This was a good entry in this series, but could have used a bit more depth in places. The historical background felt a bit rushed. It did a better job when it was telling the stories of individuals who made the escape from slavery, and there were a number of people highlighted in these chapters whose stories I was unfamiliar with. I read this with my son, who is very interested in social justice issues, and I felt like it did a good job of holding his interest while providing some background and context.
• 
  Alexandra Schneider

  Enjoyed a "simple read." This book is obviously written for juvenile eyes, and I had yet to read one of the "What Was" series so I gave this a try to see what my youth patrons like in it. Enjoyed learning about our history and thought that the author did a great job with looking at a dark time in our history with enough depth to showcase the severity of this past for youth who read it. I am going try a few more to learn some more things that history class probably taught but it has been so long ago. The narrator was decent as well as I listened to it.
• 
  Dee Price

  This book provides a detailed and comprehensive history of the Underground Railroad. It includes background information about the beginning of slavery and the Underground Railround including: the purpose of the Underground Railroad, some of the people whi were involved in it, and the Underground Railroad's path to freedom rights for African Americans. This book also includes primary sources such as photographs and maps.
• 
  Connor Anthony

  The Underground Railroad by Yona Zeldis McDonough a lit pf slaves escape to freedom. The railroad was bot a train, it was a bunch of people who were against slavery that wanted to help. They hung out lanterns and quilts to show escaping north they provided a safe place to get rest and food.
  
  I liked it because it teaches you about history and what they did to escape.
  
  I'd recommend this to history lovers.