Freedom River

by Doreen Rappaport, Bryan Collier (Illustrator)

The Barnes & Noble Review
There were many heroes of the Underground Railroad. From the tired and weary families who risked their lives to escape slavery to the instruments of freedom who helped them. One such amazing instrument was John Parker. As an ex-slave who had bought his own freedom, he knew of the pain and struggles his brethren were feeling. Parker made it his goal to help families escape their life of suffering into a free land. Freedom River tells the story of one such mission.

Kentucky was a slave state, but Ohio -- just across the Ohio River -- was free. Time and again, Parker sails across the river in the dark of night and brings slaves to Ohio. One night in November, Parker tries to free a family from the Shrofe plantation. But one man will not leave, fearful for his wife and child. Parker has to go back empty-handed, and the onset of winter prevents him from crossing the river for many weeks; in April, he tries again but is informed that Master Shrofe knows of the family's near escape and now keeps careful eye on all that they do -- even keeping their baby at the foot of his bed at night. Parker promises to help them. The next night he tells them to wait in the woods while he enters the master's house. Risking life and limb, he retrieves the infant, as Shrofe's angry shouts echo in the distance.

Told in an exquisite voice, this book highlights the heroes no one seldom hears about. The tone of the book is realistic and at times somber. The watercolor and collage illustrations, especially those evoking the blue of the night sky, adds depth and intensity to an already passionate story.

--Amy Barkat

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Cultural, Childrens, African American

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Doreen Rappaport has written many books of fiction and nonfiction for young readers, specializing in thoroughly researched multicultural history, historical fiction, retellings of folktales and myths, and stories of those she calls the "not-yet-celebrated." Among her recent books is Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier, which received a Caldecott Honor Award and a Coretta Scott King Honor Award for illustration. Doreen Rappaport divides her time between New York City and a rural village in upstate New York.

Reviews

[Jessica Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I have a boat waiting to row you 'cross the river to freedom," he whispered.
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book Award

"Freedom River" by Doreen Rappaport is a must read for students in the primary grades! I might suggest it as a mentor text in a 2nd or 3rd grade unit on The Underground Railroad or Civil Rights. In the story, John Parker, an ex-slave and freedom fighter, goes on a mission to help slaves escape their plantations in Kentucky by crossing the Ohio river. The story focuses on one family (Isaac, Sarah, and their baby daughter) who work on Jim's plantation. If the slave family successfully crosses the river, they will arrive in the free state of Ohio and can then find the Underground Railroad. John risks his life helping the family by giving them directions on how to reach the free land.

This story is full of stylistic techniques and literary elements to discuss with students. For example, the author bolds and enlarges certain words like "WAIT, WAIT" or "LISTEN, LISTEN" or "CLOSER, LOUDER" to help set a intense, dramatic mood. Students could examine diction, and discuss how emphasis on certain words helps the author convey a message. In addition, the dark and serious illustrations also contribute to the mood of the story, emphasizing the risk John is taking to help these slaves escape the plantation. I also noticed that the illustrator used wavy, jagged lines on people's faces to represent the current of the river- the road to freedom was not a smooth one! The story highlights the risks many people took to help strangers escape slavery. This could lead to a great discussion on the theme of heroism, and qualities such as bravery and total selflessness.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freedom River
3 out of 5 stars

The illustrations by Collier have a patchy look; it appears that ripped pieces of construction paper are artfully placed to create the drawings. With the exception of the smooth faces, the illustrations have a jagged and torn feel to them. This is mirrored in the text; characters seem torn between two worlds, fighting for freedom or staying with their masters. Images of African Americans appear at the bottom of the pages at the beginning of the book; they all have their eyes closed and look as if they are praying for freedom. There are random words, mainly verbs, in the book that are in bold and in larger font. This gives a feeling of repetition, which caters to younger audiences. These words stand out because they are repeated twice, which forces the reader to stop and contemplate the importance of the verbs. Kids between third and sixth grades would enjoy the book. Younger students would latch on to the repetition, while older kids would relate to the bravery and heroics of the characters. Kids can relate to wanting something but being torn about what to do in order to obtain their end goal. I gave the book a three out of five stars not because of the artwork, but because I felt the text could have been stronger. History, language arts, and science are three content areas in which the book could be integrated. For math, students could study the freezing of a lake based on the outside air temperature.

[(NS) Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has such captivating mixed media pictures that it is difficult not to immediately be drawn into the story. The mood is set through dark colors and shadows and the reader knows at once that the story is serious. I would definitely recommend this book to upper elementary students, primarily for the reason that the topic may be difficult to understand, but also because I found myself having to re-read some parts to understand that Jim was a white man working for a black man. The forward helps, as does the afterword, to clarify the story.

This picture book is about a man named John Parker who made it his mission as a free black man to help save slaves living nearby. He risks his life multiple times to help families on a plantation and the author does an excellent job portraying the intensity of the situation by making words like "QUIET, QUIET" or "CRAWL, CRAWL" larger and bolder so that the reader understands the situation and the gravity of what John is doing.

I would almost like to use this book to not just inform students of those heroes during slavery times, but also to model how writers use words to express themselves in unique ways (like by making the font bolder/bigger).

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Type of book & Literary Genre: nonfiction, picture books
-Awards: Coretta Scott King Award
-Summary: John Parker is an ex-slave who won his freedom and uses it to help get slaves from Kentucky across the river to Ohio, the free land. He is determined to save one family in particular, where the father will not leave his wife and child. Their master learns of their near escape, so he sleeps with the baby at the foot of his bed. In order to get them to freedom, Parker risks his life by taking the baby from the master's bed, with him screaming in the distance as he runs with the baby.
-Critique: This was a very well-written book. My only critique is that it might be too difficult for younger students to process. The content of slavery and the Civil War is very intense, and may not be age-appropriate for some students.
-Prompts or questions: If you were John, what would you have done? Would you have risked your life that much in order to save that family? How does this change your view on slavery and the Civil War?
-Craft elements: This could definitely be an aid for teaching the brutality of the Civil War. For fourth or fifth graders, this would be a great book to give them more knowledge they may not always hear about slavery and freedom.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed media art as the pictures & they look awesome! Well written biography.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of a little-known former slave who helped free other slaves by helping them cross the river from Kentucky, a slave state, into Ohio, a free state. Beautiful illustrations. It is a picture book, but I don’t think very young children would understand the significance of the story.

[L12_luisespinoza Espinoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells a riveting true story about John Parker, an ex-slave and successful business man. John lives in the free state of Ohio in the town of Ripley, which lies near the Ohio river and across from the slave state of Kentucky. He is part of a group of freedom fighters that are part of the Underground Raiload.

John owns a foundry where he employs African-Americans and a Caucasian iron molder named Jim Shrofe. Jim lives in a plantation across the river in Kentucky and is owner of a slave family consisting of Isaac, his wife Sarah, and their little baby girl. The story continues with John crossing the river one November night into Jim's plantation in efforts to rescue Isaac. However, John has a hard time getting Isaac to follow him to the river where he has his boat waiting to carry him across to freedom. Isaac panics and tells John "I can't leave my wife and baby" and runs back to the plantation screaming. After his failed attempt to rescue Isaac, John is even more determined to go back and liberate him. He waits till the following April to go back for a second attempt. When he reaches Isaac and his wife, Sarah tells John "Since you came back last fall, Master Shrofe watches our ev'ry move. He took my baby from me an' makes her sleep ev'ry night at the foot of his bed." John comes up with a plan to rescue all of them (including the baby) and returns the following night to carry out his plan. John directs Isaac and his wife to hold his shoes and wait for him in the woods near the river and he makes his way into Jim's house to grab the baby. What follows is a heartpounding escape as John and the baby are pursued by an awoken Jim aiming and shooting his gun at John.

The story covers themes of courage, determination, and faith. The book also provides the author's and illustrator's notes at the beginning as well as a historical note at the end of the book which frames the story nicely. The illustrations also make a powerful impact to the overall storyline. The illustrator, Bryan Collier, uses a mosaic-like style in his pictures highlighting nighttime colors throughout his illustrations as most of the story takes place during this time of the day. In addition, he also mentions in his notes that he has illustrated people throughout the book with wavy lines across their faces (to represent a river) that are not part of the story's illustrations. As he states in his note, "these are the ancestors or protectors of Sarah and Isaac and their child." This book can be an excellent resouce as part of a Social Studies lesson on slavery and more specifically, the Undeground Railroad. There is another book written by the same author called 'Escape From Slavery' that can be a complementary resource to this type of unit. That book has five stories of slaves who escaped to freedom using the Underground Railroad. This Coretta Scott King Honor book is appropriate for grade levels 3-5 and I would highly recommend adding it to your library.

[Justice · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Parker was a slave who bought his freedom by working as an iron molder. John Parker was strongly against slavery and wanted all slaves to be free, so he began to lead hundreds of slaves to freedom by rowing families across the Ohio River, and then travel to the underground railroad. This book tells a historical and heart-wrenching story of how he leads a family to their freedom. John’s first attempt to help the family was unsuccessful and John is nearly killed. John comes, back for the family with a different approach, but the family refuses to leave without their child.

Circular Connections:
For this specific lesson in history, I would find a video, or read another book that talks about the underground railroad. Although the book, mentions the underground railroad, the book does not go into depth about it.
For the assignment, students will be given questions about the book and about the underground railroad. For the writing portion, students will imagine that they are Sarah or Isaac. Students will write the journal entries of their journey to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Students will need to include the dangers they face, the route they follow, the people who help them, and information about their final destination and a new home.
§110.15. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 4, Beginning with School Year 2009-2010.
(15) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:

(A) plan a first draft by selecting a genre appropriate for conveying the intended meaning to an audience and generating ideas through a range of strategies (e.g., brainstorming, graphic organizers, logs, journals);

(B) develop drafts by categorizing ideas and organizing them into paragraphs;

(C) revise drafts for coherence, organization, use of simple and compound sentences, and audience;

(D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling using a teacher-developed rubric; and

(E) revise final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for a specific audience.

(16) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are expected to:

(A) write imaginative stories that build the plot to a climax and contain details about the characters and setting

[Adriana Servin-cruz]

This book is a true story of John Parker, a former slave and successful businessman who risked his reputation, freedom, and life in order to help other slaves find salvation. The story takes place in a time of slavery between the borders of the free state Ohio and the slave state Kentucky. John owns his business where he works along with a white man named Jim who lives in a plantation across the river of Kentucky and owns a slave family; Isaac, Sarah, and their baby daughter. John becomes determined to help free the family that Jim is keeping. One night, after getting caught before, he finally convinces Isaac and Sarah to follow him to freedom though they state that Jim has taken their daughter to sleep near him in order to prevent them from escaping again. John decides to go get the their baby daughter and tells them to meet him near the river. As John was attempting to escape along with their daughter, Jim heard the cries of the baby and soon starts firing at John. After successfully regaining their daughter, John accomplished to free another family from such a ruthless lifestyle.
The Underground Railroad consisted of many people secretly working along with others to help slaves escape their lifestyle and reach freedom. The book highlights the risks and dangers these heroes would put themselves under to help acquaintances as well as strangers. With this book, teachers can use this book to teach students about the unionization throughout this time period between those who opposed of slavery and the daring actions they took to exemplify their beliefs. They can also use this reading to enhance students’ understanding of how the Underground Railroad functioned and who were some of its conductors. This historical non-fiction book is targeted for primary grades and it is perfect to use as an introductory to a history topic. Its realistic tone is sure to put students in suspense about such a heroic action they will be cheering for.

[Emily McCracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freedom River by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Bryan Collier, is a story about an African American who was born into slavery who eventually bought his way into freedom. Before the civil war Kentucky was a slave state and Ohio was free. Slaves traveled the underground railroad and crossed the Ohio river where they stayed with people who kept them safe until they could be moved further north. Freedom River is based on John Parker's story to help an African American family escape across the river to freedom.
This book would be great to use in a 3rd grade classroom at the beginning of a unit about slavery. It discusses the difficulty and dangers of getting to freedom by way of the underground railroad. At the end of the story it tells who John Parker is and gives his biography while the story itself is about how he was able to help a slave family to freedom.
The illustrations in this book were very interesting. The faces on the people were very intricate but the backgrounds were more abstract, they looked as though they were created from pieces of paper ripped and pieced back together. The illustrations neither added nor took away from the story but were done in beautiful colors and really caught the readers' eye.The end pages of the book showed a map of the Ohio River from Ohio to Kentucky and showed different areas such as islands and creeks. I liked that the map was included because it gives children a sense of the width of the river where they had to cross as well as the distance down the river.
I enjoyed the book and thought that it would be great to use as a read aloud .

[Sarah Nottingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freedom River by Bryan Collier is about a African American families escape to freedom. I personally enjoyed the story very much. The author made the story easy to follow and the illustration helped engage the reader.
I could use this story as a read aloud or independent read in a 3rd or 4th grade classroom. This would be a wonderful read aloud story during a lesson plan dealing with history of the civil war, or black history month. The story is engaging and teaches children about the fight African Americans went through in order to receive freedom. The story could also be used as an independent read while discussing culture, diversity or history in class. If I had a lesson plan about culture, I would suggest this book to African American students that wanted to learn about there history. I would also recommend this story to students who were interested in the civil war or the civil rights movement. As a teacher you could use the book to teach culture, diversity, history and theme.
The book contains several nonfiction conventions. It contains boldface print to invasive escaping to freedom; running and screaming. It contains a preface, historical note and appendix to further explain the story. Finally the book has a sequence text structure that leads the reader through the book.
Finally I enjoyed the accurate language used throughout the book, it engages the reader in the culture.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published: 2000, Sleeping Bear Press
Age: 6-12

John Parker is a seldom heard of former slave who helped with the Underground Railroad and also helped about 900 slaves to escape. This is the story of how he helped one family. For important words the author uses a larger font with repetition for emphasis. The pictures add to the text showing mostly darkened illustrations to visualize the tenseness of the situation. In addition, the illustrator uses a very interesting style combining collage with watercolors. The illustrator has included on one side of each page an inset of a black man or woman that represent individuals that provided him with spiritual guidance. He presents them with wavy lines across their faces representing the river that the slaves had to cross for freedom. The inside and back cover show a map of the setting of the story, created as it would look back in the 1800's. The author also includes an introduction of John Parker and at the end, an Historical note that students would find helpful in writing a report about him. Additional books and websites are listed also.

[Arielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade/interest level: PreK-4th
Reading level: Lexile 330 (GL 3.1)
Genre: Historical fiction
Main Characters: John Parker
Setting: Kentucky, Ohio
Theme: Freedom, the underground rail road
Author: Doreen Rappaport
Harriet Tubman was not the only underground rail road conductor. In fact there were many people who risked their lives to free slaves, and bring them to free states in the America. Freedom River is a story that follows John Parker. John is a hardworking man who bought his freedom, and now he is a conductor of the underground rail road. The text follows John as he rescues a family to freedom in Ohio. He defies all the odds as he rows the family to safety in Ohio a free state.
I would defiantly use this book in my classroom. The illustration in the book done by Bryan Collier is simply amazing. It seems as if he crafts pictures out of pieces color, creating an abstract collage of some sort.

[Hyeonjeong Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction - I am very interested in this book because it is based on the real person, who is John Parker and on the real historical background, slavery.

Purposes-
Read aloud to third or fourth graders of elementary school for several potential purposes:
- The mood is set through dark colors and shadows. Children will notice that this story is from serious history.
- This book would encourage elementary school students to have understanding of slavery and how people struggled to get freedom.
- Joh Parker showed commitment to help slaves runaway from Kentucky to Ohio. He got the freedom by paying money, but he went to Kentucky to help people out even though it was really dangerous. It would enhance children's social and cognitive development. They would learn selflessness in making a good society and the importance of finding second-class citizens and helping them to get better lifestyles.
- This book uses varied words that allow children to improve their language capacity.

[Ch_amyM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freedom River by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier was published in 2000 by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children. It was a Coretta Scott King Award Honor book and tells the story of John Parker, a successful African American businessperson in Ripley, Ohio (a free state) who helped tranport slaves across the Ohio River from Kentucky along the Underground railrod.
This is a powerful story of the lengths some people went to in order to help people escape to freedom. It talks about a person many students may be unfamiliar with and opens up the door for powerful conversations. I would use this in second through fifth grade especially during Black History Month to sing the praises of unknown African Americans.

[Erika Graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about John Parker, a freed slave, who lives in Ripley, Ohio and helps slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad. This story tells how he helped free an enslaved family in Kentucky by bringing them across the river to Ohio. I am fascinated by the Underground railroad and enjoy hearing stories about slaves being lead to freedom, so I loved this book. I think this book is most appropriate for older elementary students (3rd-4th grade) due to the content and vocabulary used. Students could use this book when discussing the Underground Railroad and various conductors who helped along the way. They could each research information on different conductors who were made famous for their work. This book would be a good resource for researching John Parker's work.

[Jesse McMorris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freedom River was written by Dorren Rappaport and illustrated by Byran Collier. The story was about how a man was helping slaves go further north because those were the free states. It focused on one couple with a baby who the main tried to help them get out of the slave states but he failed but he continued to try. The illustrations were great and told a different story, the texture was nice in this one. He used a method were he cut out the pictures and painted them out later. I would use this book in an historical fiction aspect because there were people who did do that, when slavery was a thing. Using this in a lesson would be good and I would correlate it to the underground railroad.

[Robert Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bryan Colliers' art showcases an original style combining watercolor with collage, and together form a vibrant and unique look to this book. The story is an account of an attempt by a conductor of the underground railroad to bring a slave family across the Ohio River and into freedom. It is not only a good introduction to young readers about slavery and the underground Railroad, but also a good reminder to all readers about the bravery and dangers that ordinary people faced in the struggle against slavery.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Parker was born a slave but earned enough money to buy his freedom. He lived near the border between Ohio (a free state) and Kentucky (a slave state). He was an active conductor on the Underground Railroad.

This book tells the story of how he freed Sarah, Isaac and their baby in a very risky venture. Parker was brave and dedicated to doing what he felt was right.

I love the illustrations by Collier. I also enjoyed reading the symbolism behind the illustrations. Well worth reading. (Haven't read it to my children yet, but will soon.)

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Parker was one of the numerous heroes who helped countless slaves north on their dangerous journey of freedom. Parker, a former slave who purchased his own freedom years previously, never forgot the horror he endured in bondage and vowed to rescue as many African American’s cruelly imprisoned in the South. An intense book, told in an age appropriate manner, to share with students learning about this terrible time in our nation’s history. I look forward to reading more about John Parker and his relentless efforts toward liberty for all.

[Davin Thompson-williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bravery and selflessness displayed in this story are magnificent. Things like this do not happen as frequently today as they did in those times. This is not simply because slavery was abolished but more so because the individual mentality takes precedence in the modern day. Then it was about freeing others from the suffering one had experienced himself now it's more about getting out of the situation than helping others. This book was a refreshing look at a time when heroes were not herles because it was their line of work but because their hearts were in the right place.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Parkeran an ex-slave who bought his own freedom, made it his goal to help slave families escape their life of suffering into a free land. He was a buisnessman who helped with the Underground Railroad. He helped slaves from the slave state of Ky to the free state of Ohio. This is a good book to go along with a history lesson and also to read during Black History mounth. Recommend for 3rd to 7th.

[Brooke Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final Project

I genuinely enjoyed reading this story. I am always intrigued by the stories of brave individuals who made a difference in this world due to that courage. John Parker put his life on the line multiple times to help families cross the river to freedom. Stories like his are the ones that need to be highlighted and told. I also think that allowing readers to see the selflessness and sense of community amongst slaves and former slaves is valuable in understanding the slave culture.

[Brenda Kimble · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books have a powerful meaning with few words. I really like this book because it shows a people joining together as one to fight for a cause freedom. Again there are little words with much meaning this book recites the history of black people. It shows bravery and how they fought for their rights as a people need to know these things and pass it to our young. This book displays pride, power and unity. This is a great book.

[Rbettermann]

I used this informational text as a mentor text to accompany lessons that I prepared. Freedom River by Doreen Rappaport is a wonderful and very easy to read text bringing clear clarity for readers to understand. John Parker along with Harriet Tubman helps to enrich our understanding of American history. I would recommend this text for grades 2 to beyond. One can always discover information and appreciate what a children's picture book can deliver.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curricular connections: This would be a great book to describe the story of John Parker and his determination and courage to help slaves escape to freedom.
113.12 Social Studies, Grade 1:
(14) Citizenship. The student understands important symbols, customs, and celebrations that represent American beliefs and principles and contribute to our national identity. The student is expected to:
(E) explain how patriotic customs and celebrations reflect American individualism and freedom; and

[Gabriela Murillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freedom River is a very good book to teach children history.This book is based on the true story of John Parker and ex-slave which turned out to become a very succesful business man. He lived in Ohio which was a free state right by the river that connected Kentucky which back then it was a slaved state. John Parker helped with the underground railroad annd helped 900 slaves to escape.

[Zoila Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a partial biography of John Parker. John Parker was a slave who was taken from his mother and sold at age eight. He then bought his freedom and became a successful businessman. He help many slaves escape to reach freedom. This story is a scenario on how he helped a family escape. I think this is a great story for children to learn about the underground railroad and slavery.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this book shows an African American family of three. I liked this book because it will give students an idea of Americas' history. I would definitely read it to my classroom. I chose this book because I thought it would teach me about a race besides my own. It definitely opened my eyes about what African Americans used to go through and I hope it would open my students eyes.

[Alison Durbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I think this would be a great book to use if I were discussing the Underground Railroad with my students. I also liked how it touched on Kentucky being a slave state. I think it would be important for these who live in KY that their state has a dark past (like most states). This book also has incredible pictures that add to the story overall.