North Star to Freedom: The Story of the Underground Railroad

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

“Walk toward the North Star and pray God will take care of us. They
took away your papa, they took away your brother, and I’m not waiting
until they take away you too!” These are the words of a fictional
slave to her child before they begin their terrifying journey to freedom
on the legendary Underground Railroad. Although the bulk of this work is
factual history, each chapter begins with a short fictional scene that
allows the reader to become an eyewitness to history.

The Underground Railroad is the central theme of the book, but the
overall content might more accurately be described as a broad overview
of slavery in North America. The first chapter examines the founding of
the European slave trade in Africa 400 years ago and closes with a
summary of slavelike conditions still in existence in the world today.
There are also chapters on black North American inventors, war heroes,
and politicians. The author’s in-depth knowledge of her subject is
impressive, and her text is generously illustrated with historical
broadsheets, newspaper lithographs, and period photographs.

In the foreword, Rosemary Brown, the first black member of a provincial
Parliament in Canada and chairperson of the Ontario Human Rights
Commission, describes the book as “very important because it helps us
understand one of the most shameful episodes in our history.” Highly
recommended.