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The Secret to Freedom
Lucy is just a young girl when her parents are sold off the plantation where her family lives. Oh, how she wishes things could be different. One day Lucy's older brother, Albert, comes home with something that can make a difference a sack of quilts. The quilts are part of a secret code, and each different pattern gives important information to slaves planning to escape on the Underground Railroad. When Albert is caught one night helping the runaways, he too must flee, leaving Lucy behind. As he disappears into the darkness, Lucy fears she will never see her brother again. Set during the years before the Civil War, The Secret to Freedom is a testament to the enduring bond of family and a celebration of the human spirit. It is a story of triumph over adversity during a difficult chapter in our country's past. An Author's Note further explains the Underground Railroad quilt code.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 2, 2019
This is an informative book about the way that slaves used patterns on a quilt to communicate in order to escape through the underground railroad in the times of slavery in the south. The story centers around a girl that was taught to use the symbols by her brother to signal African American slaves.
January 26, 2013
A touching story about a family's history, with a clever use of quilt codes used as beacon lights for runaway slaves on the Underground Road to Freedom.
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November 10, 2020The Secret to Freedom by Marcia K. Vaughan has not won any awards however the author is an award winning author.
This book is for K-2nd grade.
This book is about a young girl in the Civil War period and is in slavery. Her parents are sold and separated from her. She only has her brother who one day brings her quilts. These quilts are symbols for the Underground railroad. Her brother is caught and has to flee and she is left behind. She gives her brother a yellow star quilt. He flees and she is left on the plantation. Once the war is over she recieves the quilt and knows he is still alive.
This story was a heart touching childrens book. It takes one of the most difficult times and shows a story of struggle but triumph from adversity.
This book is a great history lesson and a way to show the students what facing adversity is. It also is a way to show them what courage is and to never lose hope. This story would be great to teach children life and historical lessons.
This book is for K-2nd grade.
This book is about a young girl in the Civil War period and is in slavery. Her parents are sold and separated from her. She only has her brother who one day brings her quilts. These quilts are symbols for the Underground railroad. Her brother is caught and has to flee and she is left behind. She gives her brother a yellow star quilt. He flees and she is left on the plantation. Once the war is over she recieves the quilt and knows he is still alive.
This story was a heart touching childrens book. It takes one of the most difficult times and shows a story of struggle but triumph from adversity.
This book is a great history lesson and a way to show the students what facing adversity is. It also is a way to show them what courage is and to never lose hope. This story would be great to teach children life and historical lessons.
May 6, 2019
Awards: None
Summary: When Lucy and her Brother Albert's parents are sold to another plantation they are left on their own. They come across a sack of quilts and within find a way to escape. Lucy stays on the plantation while her brother leaves the plantation to find the underground railroad. Giving her brother a piece of the quilt for good luck she bids him farewell. One day Lucy receives the piece of quilt she had given her brother in the mail. Albert was alive and well!
Review: The heartbreaking story of the true horrors many faced during this time in history. This story is beautiful in all aspects. This story celebrates humanity, the end of slavery, and freedom in an amazing way.
Age: First Grade to Fourth Grade
Uses in class: Independent reading/ Discussions/ History Lessons
Summary: When Lucy and her Brother Albert's parents are sold to another plantation they are left on their own. They come across a sack of quilts and within find a way to escape. Lucy stays on the plantation while her brother leaves the plantation to find the underground railroad. Giving her brother a piece of the quilt for good luck she bids him farewell. One day Lucy receives the piece of quilt she had given her brother in the mail. Albert was alive and well!
Review: The heartbreaking story of the true horrors many faced during this time in history. This story is beautiful in all aspects. This story celebrates humanity, the end of slavery, and freedom in an amazing way.
Age: First Grade to Fourth Grade
Uses in class: Independent reading/ Discussions/ History Lessons
July 3, 2021
A genuinely heartwarming story, full of history, adventure and tension.
Great Aunt Lucy recounts the horrifying days of servitude, the sale of her parents and daredevil escape by her brother before the Civil War helped end slavery in America.
Lucy tells of the sadness at her parents' disappearance, trepidation at her brother's escape, her own freedom and eventual settled life as a wife and teacher. The tension remains until the end, when the story comes full-circle.
Definitely one for slightly older children, unless adults are willing to undertake difficult conversations with inquisitive five and six year olds. There is also certainly some D&T/Art tie ins with the secret storytelling blanket, alongside the History lessons links in the story.
Great Aunt Lucy recounts the horrifying days of servitude, the sale of her parents and daredevil escape by her brother before the Civil War helped end slavery in America.
Lucy tells of the sadness at her parents' disappearance, trepidation at her brother's escape, her own freedom and eventual settled life as a wife and teacher. The tension remains until the end, when the story comes full-circle.
Definitely one for slightly older children, unless adults are willing to undertake difficult conversations with inquisitive five and six year olds. There is also certainly some D&T/Art tie ins with the secret storytelling blanket, alongside the History lessons links in the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2017
This is a wonderful heartwarming book about devotion and loyalty to family that centers around a South Carolina slave family right before the Civil War. It is told in the first-person voice by the now older woman who lived the experience of being a slave, witnessing the cruelty of a ruthless overseer, seeing her family torn asunder, the abolishment of slavery and eventual freedom, happiness found in marriage, and the joy of reconnecting with her surviving brother. Highly recommend for teachers and parents alike as not only a tool for instruction in U.S. history, but also in leading in discussions about empathy, compassion, human dignity, and respect.
May 1, 2018
1. No awards were received for this book.
2. 1st-5th Grade
3. This book takes place during the Civil War, when a young girl Lucy fears she will never see her brother again after he get caught helping slaves escape the Underground Railroad.
4. I like this book because it clearly depicts the difficult times our Country has faced in the past.
5. I would use this book in the classroom by using it identify characters and their traits.
2. 1st-5th Grade
3. This book takes place during the Civil War, when a young girl Lucy fears she will never see her brother again after he get caught helping slaves escape the Underground Railroad.
4. I like this book because it clearly depicts the difficult times our Country has faced in the past.
5. I would use this book in the classroom by using it identify characters and their traits.
March 28, 2019
A story set in civil war times about a girl and her family who have been separated due to slavery. One day her brother comes home with a sack of old quilts with a mission to help others escape through patterns created in the quilts. This story has vivid pictures that bring the story to life.
6 traits: ideas, voice, organization
F&P: G
AR: 1.4
6 traits: ideas, voice, organization
F&P: G
AR: 1.4
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June 7, 2020This book is really good for learning about the specific patterns slaves used to make their quilts, and what each signifies. I’d be uncomfortable using this for a read-aloud myself, because there is so much African American vernacular. It includes an upsetting scene of Lucy’s brother being whipped, and it’s fairly text-heavy, so I’d probably save it for upper elementary grades.
May 4, 2021
Lexile: 650L
Beautiful illustrations. Longer texts with a lot of dialogue. This book is definitely made for older young readers with the amount of text and longer words it holds.
Beautiful illustrations. Longer texts with a lot of dialogue. This book is definitely made for older young readers with the amount of text and longer words it holds.
October 24, 2009
Summary:In the days before the Civil War, a young enslaved girl and her older brother help slaves escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad quilt code. In this story this little girl has grown up and is now sharing her story with younger generations.
Genre: Fictional Picture Book
Reading Level:This book is fluent. This book is fluent because it has a lot of text on each page and is a long picture book. The font is very small and it has a lot of information within the text. This book has harder words and deals with a subjects that would only be understood by older children.
Topic: escaping slavery, the lives of slaves
Curriculum Uses:This book would be good as an independent read for older grades such as 3-6. This book would also be good as a read-aloud for these grades, but could work for older grades if you were discussing the issue of slavery and incorporating it into that.
Social Issues:This book digs deep into the issue of slavery. It looks at how slavery affected and broke apart so many families, and how the generations since slavery was abolished are still being affected by it. This book also discusses the ways in which the slaves escaped to The North and how they went about getting there.
Literary Elements: This book uses metaphors such as saying, " we sat in the kitchen chitchatting like a pair of summer sparrows." The book also has a lot of dialogue within it because the main character is telling a story from the past. The book also uses imagery.
Illustrations & Text: The illustrations in this book are amazingly done. The illustrations go well with the text and they work together to tell the whole story. The text and illustrations work together to convey the emotions of the slaves. You feel as though you are apart of the book.
Genre: Fictional Picture Book
Reading Level:This book is fluent. This book is fluent because it has a lot of text on each page and is a long picture book. The font is very small and it has a lot of information within the text. This book has harder words and deals with a subjects that would only be understood by older children.
Topic: escaping slavery, the lives of slaves
Curriculum Uses:This book would be good as an independent read for older grades such as 3-6. This book would also be good as a read-aloud for these grades, but could work for older grades if you were discussing the issue of slavery and incorporating it into that.
Social Issues:This book digs deep into the issue of slavery. It looks at how slavery affected and broke apart so many families, and how the generations since slavery was abolished are still being affected by it. This book also discusses the ways in which the slaves escaped to The North and how they went about getting there.
Literary Elements: This book uses metaphors such as saying, " we sat in the kitchen chitchatting like a pair of summer sparrows." The book also has a lot of dialogue within it because the main character is telling a story from the past. The book also uses imagery.
Illustrations & Text: The illustrations in this book are amazingly done. The illustrations go well with the text and they work together to tell the whole story. The text and illustrations work together to convey the emotions of the slaves. You feel as though you are apart of the book.
April 13, 2025
I liked this story, there is so much to learn about the past. The love of family bonds.
February 16, 2013
Title: The Secret to Freedom
Author: Marcia Vaughan
Recommended Ages or grades: 8 - 10
This book tells the story of the underground railroads. Lucy tells her story to her granddaughter of her life on the plantation. She is a young girl when her parents are sold off to another plantation. She knows that she will never see her parents again. Now it is just she and her brother Albert. Albert, who has been helping slaves escape through the Underground Railroad, comes to Lucy and shares with her the secret message hidden on an old quilt. Each secret code displays a message that only slaves and reads when the quilt is hung out over an old wooden fence. One night, Albert is caught helping the runaways and must flee for his life leaving Lucy behind. As he disappears into the stormy night, she hears gunfire and howling dogs and fears the worst. Years later, slavery has slowly died off and Lucy receives a piece of the quilt in the mail telling her that her brother did make. They soon have their reunion.
I thought this book was an excellent book for young readers to read. It’s a great way to introduce slavery into a section of history. The illustrations were great too.
Author: Marcia Vaughan
Recommended Ages or grades: 8 - 10
This book tells the story of the underground railroads. Lucy tells her story to her granddaughter of her life on the plantation. She is a young girl when her parents are sold off to another plantation. She knows that she will never see her parents again. Now it is just she and her brother Albert. Albert, who has been helping slaves escape through the Underground Railroad, comes to Lucy and shares with her the secret message hidden on an old quilt. Each secret code displays a message that only slaves and reads when the quilt is hung out over an old wooden fence. One night, Albert is caught helping the runaways and must flee for his life leaving Lucy behind. As he disappears into the stormy night, she hears gunfire and howling dogs and fears the worst. Years later, slavery has slowly died off and Lucy receives a piece of the quilt in the mail telling her that her brother did make. They soon have their reunion.
I thought this book was an excellent book for young readers to read. It’s a great way to introduce slavery into a section of history. The illustrations were great too.
January 20, 2009
Last week I introduced slavery and the Underground Railroad to my after-school second graders by reading "Henry's Freedom Box." The children were quite engaged by this chapter in American history and I followed up the next day by reading "The Secret to Freedom."
Marcia Vaughan details an enslaved family and their struggle to survive a difficult time. After their parents are sold off, a brother and sister secretly help others escape to freedom by guiding their travels with a secret quilt code. The story is told with simple language and colorful illustrations. The quilt codes used during the Underground Railroad are further detailed in an author's note following the story.
The bond of the family and their feats of survival evoke a sense of personal interest to the reader. My students became quite vested in the characters and their fate. They were also intrigued by the quilt code. We followed up the story by doing further research on the quilt patterns and their meaning. The students really gained a sense of appreciation of the hardships African-Americans endured in our early history through "The Secret to Freedom."
Marcia Vaughan details an enslaved family and their struggle to survive a difficult time. After their parents are sold off, a brother and sister secretly help others escape to freedom by guiding their travels with a secret quilt code. The story is told with simple language and colorful illustrations. The quilt codes used during the Underground Railroad are further detailed in an author's note following the story.
The bond of the family and their feats of survival evoke a sense of personal interest to the reader. My students became quite vested in the characters and their fate. They were also intrigued by the quilt code. We followed up the story by doing further research on the quilt patterns and their meaning. The students really gained a sense of appreciation of the hardships African-Americans endured in our early history through "The Secret to Freedom."
February 24, 2013
The Secret to Freedom by Marcia Vaughan
Lucy was a young girl when her parents were sold to another plantation. She is left with only her brother Albert and she knows that she will never see her parents again. Albert is involved with helping to transport slaves via the underground railroad. One day he slips a secret message to Lucy that is hidden in old quilt. The messages are in a secret code that only the slaves know and when it is hung out on the old fence it is their cue that there is a message to be read. Albert is forced to flee and leave Lucy at the plantation after being caught trying to help runaway slaves escape. The last thing Lucy hears as her brother is escaping is gunfire. Albert never returns. Years later, after slavery has become less and less common Lucy receives a message on the patch of an old quilt in the mail. The message tells her that her is alive and would like to reunite.
When I was growing up the Children's Books I was exposed to never came close to broaching the the topic of slavery or the Underground Railroad. I am disappointed by the lack of diversity I was exposed to when it came to literature.
Lucy was a young girl when her parents were sold to another plantation. She is left with only her brother Albert and she knows that she will never see her parents again. Albert is involved with helping to transport slaves via the underground railroad. One day he slips a secret message to Lucy that is hidden in old quilt. The messages are in a secret code that only the slaves know and when it is hung out on the old fence it is their cue that there is a message to be read. Albert is forced to flee and leave Lucy at the plantation after being caught trying to help runaway slaves escape. The last thing Lucy hears as her brother is escaping is gunfire. Albert never returns. Years later, after slavery has become less and less common Lucy receives a message on the patch of an old quilt in the mail. The message tells her that her is alive and would like to reunite.
When I was growing up the Children's Books I was exposed to never came close to broaching the the topic of slavery or the Underground Railroad. I am disappointed by the lack of diversity I was exposed to when it came to literature.
September 16, 2013
The last book I came across is one that caught my attention by the title and the illustration on the cover. It is called The Secret to Freedom written by Marcia Vaughn and illustrated by Larry Johnson. The illustration on the front is of a young African American girl on a plantation holding a quilt, quite a moving photograph. The book is about a grandmother, Lucy, telling her granddaughter about her childhood growing up on a slave plantation. At a young age Lucy and her brother, Albert, were separated from their parents as they were sold in the slave market. Lucy and Albert then began to help other slaves escape by hanging different quilt patterns directing the Underground Railroad. In the end Lucy and Albert were also separated and it was not until years later that Lucy finally received word that Albert was safe and they were reunited again. This story was so deep and moving and I really enjoyed it. It caught my attention and kept it with each turning page. I would use this with an older group of students as they were beginning to learn about the Underground Railroad.
February 21, 2013
Author: Marcia Vaughan
Reading Level: 3rd - 5th Grade
This book was another book that I really enjoyed reading. It's about slavery and it talks about a young girl's life. Her parents were sold to another owner and her brother and her were left all alone. Her brother helped others escape to freedom using a quilt. One day, she told her brother to leave because the overseer wanted to whip him every time he saw her brother. He escaped, the war was over and the slaves were free. Lucy didn't know if her brother had escaped or was dead. At the end, Lucy receives a piece of cloth with a star, and she knows her brother is alive. These type of stories really touch my heart because we tend to forget how much slavery affected America.
Reading Level: 3rd - 5th Grade
This book was another book that I really enjoyed reading. It's about slavery and it talks about a young girl's life. Her parents were sold to another owner and her brother and her were left all alone. Her brother helped others escape to freedom using a quilt. One day, she told her brother to leave because the overseer wanted to whip him every time he saw her brother. He escaped, the war was over and the slaves were free. Lucy didn't know if her brother had escaped or was dead. At the end, Lucy receives a piece of cloth with a star, and she knows her brother is alive. These type of stories really touch my heart because we tend to forget how much slavery affected America.
January 29, 2012
This is a book about an aunt telling her niece the story of her and her brother's freedom. Through this book, the young girl learns about slavery and the underground railroad and many other important aspects of African American history. I like the way this book explains the bad parts of slavery it does not "sugar coat" anything for the reader. But yet the book is written in a way that young children can easily understand what is going on. Books like this one are needed to teach children about slavery. Personally, I enjoyed reading this book and learning more about slavery through the eyes of a former slave (the book character). I thought this was a great book especially for young children.
May 14, 2012
The Secret to Freedom is a great account of a family managing to survive during slavery. Before reading this book, I didn't know that slaves used quilts to communicate messages of the underground railroad. I believe this is a beautifully crafted and well written book that I believe that children will really enjoy. This book gives a realistic idea of what people during this time had to experience. In addition this children will enjoy the colorful illustrations that bring this story to life. I highly recommend this book for teachers to have in their classroom, especially first grade and up.
October 6, 2012
I enjoyed the storyline, this book really paints a great picture of a grandma telling her story of what happened during those difficult times. I liked how she described the quilt, and the importance of it. Also how she received the little piece she had made for her brother who ran away. Whom she hadn't seen since slavery was over. This is a very touching story that I am sure others who went through that can relate and share. The secret to freedom made a lot of sense to the slaves and the owners would have never guessed it, making this story all that much more interesting.
July 19, 2013
This historical fiction picture book set just prior to the Civil War tells the story of a slave girl and her brother who learn how to use quilts to communicate “signals” on the Underground Railroad. In retelling this childhood story to her niece, the now elderly girl recounts how her brother ran away and was reunited with her some twenty years later. The author’s note and back cover pictures explain each quilt pattern and its meaning. This book makes a great read aloud to introduce the topics of slavery, the Underground Railroad, slave biographies and the Civil War period.
April 17, 2012
The Secret of Freedom is a wonderful book about how quilts are used in the Underground Railroad. This book depicts one families tale of how they survived slavery. It gives a pretty realistic look into what life was like. Students will enjoy the colorful illustrations and will learn a lot. A possible response activity will be to have students make one of their own quilt. The two stories are juxtaposed to create a masterful story.
September 10, 2016
Marcia Vaughan did a nice job in this work of historical fiction, set before or during the Civil War, about a lame young girl who was unable to attempt the Underground Railroad travel herself, yet shared information from displayed selected quilts that aided other slaves on their own exodus. This story is told exceptionally well, but very young children may have time dealing with some of the more graphic descriptions or visuals of a young slave man being beaten.
July 21, 2015
The Secret to Freedom is about a family who are slaves on a plantation. After their parents are sold to another plantation, the brother decides to run away, but before he does, he lets his sister on some secrets. He tells her the patterns to look for and signs of safe houses and the different patterns quilts have to relay messages. Her brother escapes and she soon is freed. Years later after she is married with kids, she is reunited with her brother in whom she thought was dead.
September 12, 2015
This is a well-written and beautifully illustrated story about the slavery and how quilts were part of the Underground Railroad. However, I was disappointed that the story itself did not use more of the quilt blocks. Yes, there is a list and explanation of all of them in the back. Other children's books like The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom by Bettye Stroud include all of the blocks.
July 30, 2008
Published: 2001
Theme: Slavery/Underground Railroad/Hidden messages
Summary: A story of how a young boy and his sister helped to lead many slaves to freedom by the means of quilts. Each quilt had a message of what to do and when.
Theme: Slavery/Underground Railroad/Hidden messages
Summary: A story of how a young boy and his sister helped to lead many slaves to freedom by the means of quilts. Each quilt had a message of what to do and when.
November 10, 2011
It is remarkable that various quilt patterns were secret code for various pieces of the underground railroad. By hanging a quilt on the line, slave preparing to run would coordinate when to pack, what to pack, whether to find and wear a disguise or avoid major roads, etc. Amazing.
September 20, 2013
This was a good story about slavery and the Underground Railroad. It gives an interesting perspective of a young girl and her sudden involvement in helping slaves to escape simply by hanging up quilts as secret messages. The artwork is beautiful and makes the book worth reading all by itself.
April 3, 2014
As a response activity, students could make their own patch to add to a freedom quilt to hang in the room. They could research several patterns prior to constructing them with either a) construction paper or b) sewing materials.
Author: Marcia Vaughan
Illustrator: Larry Johnson
Author: Marcia Vaughan
Illustrator: Larry Johnson
September 15, 2014
I love the real story this book tells about the Underground Railroad. It was a great thing, that did not always turn our well for those who helped. However, I did like that in this particular story there was a happy ending, even if it was after years of waiting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews