Crown Publishers, 1992
Summary: A mysterious train in the sky whisks away young Be Be. His older sister Cassie becomes distraught and, in order to rescue him, she must overcome many ordeals. Luckily the "conductor" is Harriet Tubman and she helps Cassie retrace the steps of escaping slaves and find Be Be.
Level: RL: Grade 2 IL: Grades K-3
Themes: Escaping slavery
Familial love
Perseverance in the face of adversity
Activities:
1. The first thing that a reader will notice about the book is the striking style of Ringgold's illustrations.
a. It would be a good idea to first read aloud Tar Beach , also by Faith Ringgold. In this way children will meet the characters Cassie and Be Be and be accustomed to the concept of "flying" that starts on the first page of Aunt Harriet. It also will help children separate the two time periods.
b . Talk about the palette used. What is the significance of the way Harriet dressed? What colors are usually in the background? What colors does Ringgold used to make us notice something first? Find the illustrations with a man lurking in the back. How does it make you feel?
2. SIMILE: Although you may or may not wish to use the proper term, this is an excellent book to demonstrate this literary device. (I hold with the theory that children LOVE new words and to use simile within a natural context will enrich many children's vocabulary and world view. Watch how often they will point out similar comparisons after reading this book!) There are three different levels to examine:
a. Did you ever dream about flying? Close your eyes and pretend you are high up in the sky, looking down. What do you see? Cassie is so high that she sees mountains and oceans. But to her they are not huge; she sees them as small pieces of rock candy and tiny cups of tea. The illustration on the first page sets the reader up for other similes.
b. The Underground Railroad is a simile for the escape route that slaves left the South. Use Train Talk to uncover other railroad terms. Which ones could you apply to the Underground RR?
c. Cassie's search (quest) for her brother follows this route.
3. Cassie has Aunt Harriet (Harriet Tubman) to guide her along the Underground Railroad. Indeed, Harriet assisted over 300 slaves to freedom. How did other escapees find the route North especially when most of them were not allowed to learn reading or writing?
a. One set of directions was embedded in a song. Ask your music teacher to teach you to sing the "Drinking Gourd" song. (The words and music can be found in Jeanette Winter's book.) Singing was a large part of a slave's rare pleasure. Learn the song "Go Down Moses". This was so powerful an inspiration to slaves that many were forbidden to even sing it!
b. The gourd referred to above is also known as the Big Dipper. Find out why this constellation was chosen. Arrange to have a night-time field trip to look at stars. While everyone is out in the dark, talk about traveling at night and how escaping slaves must have felt. What do the constellations look like to you; make up your own names .
c. Along the escape route, how could people know which houses were "safe?" As your class is studying this time period, have them make a wall chart of signs and symbols. Peg Leg Joe (Follow the Drinking Gourd) left one of the trees. What are some others?
d. In connection with Aunt Harriet read Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. for another way that directions for the Underground Railroad might have been passes along. In small groups make paper or cloth quilts which give directions north. The quilt in Aunt Harriet serves another purpose; what is it?
4. Select one of Cassie's adventures and think about how she must be feeling. What is she thinking about? What are some emotions that she might have? Have the students write a letter to her parents or a diary entry from Cassie's point of view. Read Nettie's Trip South.
5. A longer study of the Underground Railroad could incorporate a "Who's Who" bulletin board of prominent figures of the era. An excellent resource is Many Thousands Gone. Don't limit this type of exhibit to your classroom. Ask to do a hall display or one for the library.
6. Harriet Tubman had a bounty on her head. What is this? What would have been the buying in the mid-1800's?
7. Different states had different rules about slaves. Find a general list of these laws. Note that some of them were for the protection of slaves. Why? Which ones made it difficult for slaves to build their own identities? What recourse did slaves have if they were abused? In your judgment, which two laws were the most unfair? Make a chart for your classroom. Write in your journal about how it would be to live like this.
Resources:
Picture Books:
Everett, Gwen. John Brown: One Man Against Slavery. Paintings by Jacob Lawrence. Rizzoli, 1993.
Hopkinson, Deborah. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. Paintings by James Ransome. Knopf. 1993.
Monjo, F.N. The Drinking Gourd. Pictures by Fred Brenner. Harper and Row, 1970.
Turner, Ann. Nettie's Trip South. Illus by Roanld Himler. Macmillan, 1987.
Winter, Jeanette. Follow the Drinking Gourd. Knopf, 1988.
Chapter Length Books:
Berger, Terry. Black Fairy Tales. Atheneum, 1969.
Hamilton, Virginia. Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom. Illus by Leo and Diane Dillon. Knopf, 1993.
Hamilton, Virginia. The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. Illus. by Leo and Diane Dillon. Knopf, 1985.
Lyons, Mary E. Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs. Scribner, 1992.
McKissack, Patricia and Frederick McKissack. Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? Scholastic, 1992.
McKissack, Patricia. The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural. Illus by Brian Pinkney. Knopf, 1992.
Paulsen, Gary. NightJohn. Delacorte, 1993.
Sterling, Dorothy. Freedom Train. Doubleday, 1954.
Yepson, Roger. Train Talk. Pantheon. 1983.
