Underground to Canada
Underground to Canada is an historical novel for young readers by Barbara Smucker. It was first published in Canada in 1977 and published in the United States the following year as Runaway to Freedom: A Story of the Underground Railway. Based partially on a true story, the novel is set in the United States and Canada in the years leading up to the American Civil War and depicts the hard lives of slaves in the American South and the people who helped them escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad. The novel is studied in many Canadian schools.[1][2][3]
Plot
Julilly was born a slave on the Hensen Cotton Plantation in Virginia. Her initial happy life was changed when slave traders from the Deep South arrived. Julilly was taken from her mother's arms and moved to The Riley Plantation in Mississippi, where she meets Liza, an injured girl who needs help making it to the land of the free-Canada. After a week or so on the plantation, Alexander Ross, an abolitionist from Canada, arrives disguised as a bird watcher to free the two girls along with Lester and Adam. They set off at the dead of night and travel around the country with help from the conductors of the Underground Railroad. However, Adam and Lester are captured and taken back to the Riley Plantation, leaving the girls to fend for themselves. They finally make it to Canada and are free. Lester also meets them there, while Adam has died. Julilly finally reunites with her mother, who adopts Liza. Although they still face discrimination in Canada, they are prepared to build a life together.
Publication history
Underground to Canada was first published in 1977. It was then republished with a new cover in 1999[4] and again for a 25th Anniversary Edition in 2013 by Puffin Classics.[5]
Controversy
Due to the use of the word nigger in the novel, many parents found the book upsetting and feared it would contribute to an emergence of racism in the classroom. Complaints were filed against the use of the book in a Manitoba classroom in 1998[6] and in a Nova Scotia classroom in 2002.[7] Those who disagreed with the novel being taught in their children's classrooms disliked the image that it gave black people[8] and argued that it spoke too lightly of slavery. Lawrence Hill, the introductory speaker in the 25th Anniversary Edition of the book, agreed that it was a lighter speculation of a racist history, but that it also was written in a way for young readers to understand the barbaric situation.[9]
Honors and awards
Barbara Smucker won several awards over her career as a children's novelist, including Canada Council Children's Literature Prize,[10][11][12] the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews,[13] the Vicky Metcalf Award,[14] the Violet Downey Book Award from IODE Canada,[15] and received additional honors from multiple secondary education institutions.[16]
Underground to Canada has received numerous international awards and honorable mentions since its creation.[17] Despite the challenges the book has faced, it has been awarded Children's Book Center (one of the 50 best books of all time in Canada),[18] IBBY Honour Book,[19] Brotherhood Award (National Conference of Christians and Jews),[20] All-Japan Library Committee and Catholic Teachers Association of West Germany,[21] 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up,[22] Vicky Metcalf Award,[23] Shalom Readers Club Book List[24] and many others.
See also
References
- ^ Toledo Blade, "Author's Twelve Books Educated Children", 1 August 2003, p. B4
- ^ Nardaya Dipchand and Bruce Hill, Study Guide: Underground to Canada, Saskatchewan Schools Archived April 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Brian Thornton, Study Guide: Underground to Canada
- ^ "Underground To Canada by Barbara Smucker". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Puffin Classics: Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Challenged Books and Magazines" (PDF).
- ^ "Underground to Canada". www.freedomtoread.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Underground to Canada". www.freedomtoread.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "CM Magazine: Underground to Canada. (Puffin Classics)". www.umanitoba.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "The Author". Underground to Canada. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ JONES, RAYMOND E. "Barbara Smucker". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Puffin Classics: Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "The Author". Underground to Canada. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Puffin Classics: Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Puffin Classics: Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Smucker, Barbara Claassen (1915-2003) - GAMEO". gameo.org. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker. Retrieved 2016-02-23 – via LibraryThing.com.
- ^ "Children's Book Center | Book awards | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "IBBY Honour Book | Book awards | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Brotherhood Award | Book awards | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "All-Japan Library Committee and Catholic Teachers Association of West Germany | Book awards | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up | Book awards | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Vicky Metcalf Award | Book awards | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ^ "Shalom Readers Club Book List | Book awards | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
External links
- Underground to Canada on WorldCat
- v
- t
- e
- William Brinkley
- John Brown
- Owen Brown
- Samuel Burris
- Levi Coffin
- Richard Dillingham
- Frederick Douglass
- Calvin Fairbank
- Isaac S. Flint
- Thomas Garrett
- Frances Harper
- Laura Smith Haviland
- David Hudson
- Daniel Hughes
- Peg Leg Joe
- William Cooper Nell
- Harriet Forten Purvis
- Robert Purvis
- John Rankin
- Hetty Reckless
- Gerrit Smith
- William Still
- Calvin Ellis Stowe
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Charles Turner Torrey
- Harriet Tubman
- Delia Webster
- Emeline and Samuel Hawkins flight (1845)
- Pearl incident (1848)
- Kentucky raid in Cass County (1847)
- The South Bend Fugitive Slave Case (1849)
- Christiana Riot (1851)
- Jerry Rescue (1851)
- Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852 book)
- Joshua Glover rescue (1854)
- Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856 book)
- Dover Eight (1857)
- Oberlin–Wellington Rescue (1858)
- Tilly Escape (1856)
- Ann Maria Jackson and her seven children (1859)
- Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
- Abolitionism in the United States
- Fugitive slaves
- Fugitive slave laws
- Quilts
- Reverse Underground Railroad
- Signals
- Slave catcher
- Songs of the Underground Railroad
- The Underground Railroad Records (1872 book)
- National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
- Harriet Tubman Memorial (Boston)
- Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
- Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park
- Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center
- Underground Railroad Bicycle Route
- The Railroad to Freedom: A Story of the Civil War (1932 book)
- A Woman Called Moses (1978 miniseries)
- Roots of Resistance (1989 documentary)
- The Quest for Freedom (1992 film)
- Freedom: The Underground Railroad (2013 board game)
- The North Star (2016 film)
- Underground (2016 TV series)
- Harriet (2019 film)
- The Underground Railroad (2021 miniseries)