Follow the Drinking Gourd

Winter, J. (1988). Follow the Drinking Gourd. Illustrated by Jeanette Winter. New York, NY: Random House.

Brief Annotation: Follow the journal of a slave family as they escape to the north in hopes of freedom via the way of the Drinking Gourd- the Big Dipper. The family encounters despair, much fear, and also a great deal of help and hope. The five family members safely navigate the Underground Railroad and find freedom in Canada.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade Level: Grade 1- Grade 5

Readers who will like this: Children who have an interest in history will find some baseline understanding of what it may have been like to be a slave. The experience slaves had to go through in an effort to become free. Readers who like more than just a story will find an interest in Follow the Drinking Gourd.
Response/Rating (1-4): The author has done a great job at showing the courage needed to escape from slavery. It was written to be understood from a primary elementary grade level, and could be incorporated into a number of curricular ideas. With that in mind, I give the book a 4.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Who knows what courage is? Have you ever had to use your courage?