Dear Austin Book

Gr 3-6 135pgs


1853 Pennsylvania. 11 year old Austin has been left behind to recover from consumption while his brother Levi sets up their claim in Oregon. He writes to Levi about how he spends his days, for the most part, hanging out with his friends Possum and Jupiter. Life becomes a little more exciting than Austin wants when slavehunters show up and take Jupiter's sister Darcy with them. It turns out that Jupiter and his sister Darcy are slaves who escaped from their plantation. Unlike their father, they were not freed. Jupiter and Levi are determined to rescue her. Together they make the dangerous trip South.

Despite its title, I didn't think the story included a lot of information about the Underground railroad. Until almost the end of the book, Levi had been completely unaware that the Underground railroad was active in his town.