Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth Blacksmith's Song, illustrated by Anna Rich. PICTURE BOOK. Peachtree Publishers, 2018. $18. 9781561455805.BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
A young slave boy works with his father, the blacksmith, on a plantation. His father has a secret rhythm he taps out on his anvil that sends a message to enslaved people seeking escape on the Underground Railroad. The boy learns the rhythm and one night sends the message himself. That same night proves to be the night he and his family choose to escape as well.
There are a lot of great picture books available about the Underground Railroad and this one is not the best out there. According to the author's note, the book is entirely fictional and simply based on the idea of some of the communication tools used on the Underground Railroad. And maybe that is why it fell a bit flat for me. There is also a lot of text making it difficult for a read aloud. Overall it would not be in my top choices for Underground Railroad books, but you could probably still do worse.
Reviewer: Tara
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