Even children unfamiliar with the Underground Railroad will be intrigued by the events unfolding in Henry Cole's captivating, wordless book.
A girl and her cat take a cow through a pasture, as five soldiers carrying a Confederate flag ride by. A woman hands the girl a basket, and she collects root vegetables from the barn. Her cat stays close. The girl looks over her shoulder. Someone is hiding among the cornstalks; a single eye is visible through an opening in the stalks. After dinner, the girl steals away to the barn in the dark of night and leaves food for the unseen guest; she repeats this over several days. The soldiers return, bearing a poster of an escaped slave, promising a reward. The girl spies on the soldiers from a cabinet beneath the staircase, only her eye visible through a knothole. The image echoes the eye of the visitor among the cornstalks, as Cole visually ties the fates of girl and fugitive. Her aid to the runaway puts her at risk, too.
Cole's story leads smoothly into a discussion of the Underground Railroad. Large horizontal pages evoke the vast expanses of territory that escaping captives needed to cover. The black-and-white charcoal images suggest a time long ago, and a world that perceived humanity divided into black and white. Cole beautifully portrays the bravery of both child and fugitive as they navigate the gray area together. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness