Railroad of Courage

by Dan Rubenstein, Nancy Dyson (With)

This young reader novel about the Underground Railroad begins when Rebecca, a twelve-year-old slave in South Carolina, hears that Grower Brown plans to sell her father to another grower. Unwilling to accept the idea of slavery any longer, she shocks her parents by declaring that she will run away, with or without them. Despite their fear, they agree to go with her on the Underground Railroad to Canada. They are led by the famous Harriet Tubman, aka Moses, the tiny but fiercely courageous black woman whom Rebecca comes to love. On their journey north, Rebecca and her family rely on the bravery of freed blacks and learn to trust white abolitionists. A Canadian ornithologist, Alexander Ross, known as -the Birdman, - stumbles upon the family in Tennessee and helps them make their way north on the Mississippi River. The family hides in a hearse, travels on a steamboat, and crosses Illinois in a blizzard by pumping hand carts on a rail line. Railroad of Courage offers young readers a fast-paced story of adventure. With the introduction of historical figures, the novel explores the injustice of slavery and the moral imagination of runaways and those who helped them to freedom.

162 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2017

About the author

Dan‘s interest in runaway slaves began when he attended the Poughkeepsie Day School. Classes were held in an old three-storey house which had been part of the Underground Railroad. Dan and his classmates searched the hallways and rooms for a secret passage and hide-away where runaways would have been hidden. They never found a secret passage but they imagined men, women and children climbing a narrow staircase to a place of safety. Dan’s fifth grade teacher, Mr. Scott, told the class that his great grandparents had been slaves in Mississippi. His great grandparents, like the other four million slaves in the South, were the property of their white owners. In 1863, they were freed when the Emancipation Proclamation became law.
The Original Poughkeepsie Day School, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York
Dan grew up and went to college, majoring in economics and creative writing. When he graduated, the United States was at war in Vietnam. Dan believed the war was unjust and he joined many others in protest and civil disobedience. Relying on the power of moral imagination, Dan applied to his draft board for conscientious objector status. Dan and his wife Nancy came to Canada in 1970 to live in a more just society.

Reviews

[Zoe Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Railroad of Courage is a fast paced, intriguing and thrilling novel. It did a great job of getting across the mistakes and issues of the past and how unjust our system was back then, and how people with darker skin were discriminated against and segregated. It really showed how difficult it was for slaves. You are attracted to the characters and feel as though you are among them. When Rebecca, Moses, Deborah, Delilah, Uncle Josiah and Obadiah are on their journey you feel their fear and anxiety. Overall it is an well written book with lots of detail and sensory language.

[Ana Wynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Railroad of courage is very intriguing. Its a page turner, and you can't put the book down. Living on of plantation then running away with the most wanted slave is a pretty big deal! You feel as if you're Rebbeca herself, barly serviving blizzards and gloomy swamps with alligators. You get very into Railroad of Courage, it will pull you into the book, and out of your every day life. Into a world of intense surviving and dodging bullets.

[Gracie Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want to say that this book is a page turner and really truly kept me engaged. I’m not much of a historical fiction reader but my Grandmas friend actually wrote this book. I read it with her persuasion and after the fact it got me into this genre. I got to meet the author and actually found out that him and his wife are in the process of writing another book.