3 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a slave in the 1800’s? Judi Howe’s book, The Freedom Stone, is a fictional children’s novel which details the lives of Moses and his sister Addie, two Negro slaves who live on the Porter’s tobacco plantation in Virginia. Life is unfair and challenging on the plantation. Slaves are forced to work without pay and are whipped for minor grievances. Despite this, the siblings experience kind gestures from their master’s wife and children. Additionally, Moses finds a special stone in the fields, which he decides to keep. It becomes a symbol of freedom later on when the siblings and their mother are smuggled out of the plantation. They embark on the journey of a lifetime on the Underground Railroad, from Virginia to Canada - the only way from slavery to freedom.
Although this was specially written for middle schoolers, I really enjoyed this book. It had all of the elements a good book should have – excellent characterization, riveting adventure, heartwarming moments, and a rewarding ending. It also took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I felt angry at the cold-hearted treatment of the field slaves, sad when there was a loss, and I felt happy when the characters found themselves on a journey to freedom.
The author did a great job to highlight the life of slaves. I learned that different types of slaves faced different challenges, such as field slaves and house slaves. Slaves born into slavery such as Moses and Addie did not endure the difficult voyage aboard the slave ships like their mother did. Moreover, the author included important aspects of the slaves’ culture on the plantations. Some of these were very eye-opening. For instance, each slave received a specific ration of food for the week. This included meager amounts of cornmeal, potatoes, and bacon. Their Christmas traditions were also mentioned. One example was the length of time the Yule log burned for, which signified how many days off the slaves would have around Christmas time. Many of the slaves also sang songs and hymns which actually represented other things. For instance, the word ‘heaven’ in a hymn could mean ‘home’ to a slave. ‘Home’ actually referred to freedom. I appreciated these small details because it gave me a real insight into the lives of the slaves.
There was one recurring message in the book which was this - Bravery is doing what you have to do even when you are terribly afraid. This was the lesson that Moses and Addie kept reflecting on while they traveled as fugitives to Canada to escape slavery. I think that this is a good message for children since it can be applied to many of the challenges they may face.
Pictures were also included at the beginning of each chapter. These mostly illustrated aspects of slavery, and snippets from the children’s journey, but pictures of important historical figures were also present. Two examples were Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. These persons historically played big roles in liberating black slaves. I liked this educational aspect of the book.
I noticed a handful of errors in this book. These were mainly missing quotation marks at the end of a dialogue. In some cases, both single and double quotation marks were used without any spaces between them. Multiple quotation marks were unnecessary. This was the only flaw in the book. Therefore, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It was well-written, it gave a realistic account of slavery from children’s perspectives, and it was very educational. Children aged 11 and up will certainly enjoy reading this story.
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The Freedom Stone
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Thank you for the amazing review!
