Runaway Jack

Written and illustrated by Stewart Lees

Barron's Educational Series Inc., 2004

Genre:Children's picture book; historical fiction

Reading Level: ages 4-8

24 pages

Runaway Jack is about a young boy named Jack who, with his sister, are sold into slavery. They are assigned to Rachel and Daniel to raise them, and they become close. However, they soon have to be resold to different masters and Jack makes a little wooden horse for his sister because they are separated and he wants her to remember him. Jack after two days of travel makes it to his new home and is assigned to pick cotton with some older women. After many days of the overseer torturing the old women, Jack gets fed up, grabs the overseer's whip and throws it. Realizing how much trouble he is in he runs for it. He ends up running into a young boy who directs him to a quaker family to help him up north. As he reaches the quaker house he is reunited with Rachel, Daniel, and his sister, he is overjoyed and they are smuggled along the underground railroad to Chicago where they are free and live as a family.

I would recommend this book to any parent teaching their child about slavery or the underground railroad. Or to any child interested in that part of America's history.

I feel the main problem that could arise would deal with racist arguments or the idea that this was portraying only one side, the optimistic side, of slavery.

I enjoyed this book, and the message behind it. I like stories that teach about America's history, even the things we aren't proud of. It was uniquely illustrated and beautifully written, and could have easily been nonfiction.

My rating; 4 out of 5