Night Boat to Freedom
Author(s): Margot Theis Raven
What scares the head is best done with the heart.
When Granny Judith asks twelve-year-old Christmas John to row Molly across the river from Kentucky to the Free State of Ohio, he's terrified. But Granny Judith reassures him. So Christmas John begins the first of many dangerous journeys. And each passing day brings hope that Granny and John can find their own freedom, just across the river.
Night Boat to Freedom is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Review(s):
“A powerful new picture book. Watercolor paintings . . . match the mood and theme.” —The Chicago Sun-Times
“Words and pictures work perfectly together, making sound from silence and light from darkness.” —Booklist, Starred Review
“Lewis's watercolors beautifully capture the loving relationship between Granny Judith and Christmas John. . . . Handsome and affecting.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A rich story for adults and children to share.” —School Library Journal
“The runaways' success is joyfully triumphant, but perhaps the most moving aspect of the work is Lewis's watercolor paintings, which skillfully manipulate light and shadow to create two parallel worlds.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Long-listed Booklist Editors' Choice, Long-listed Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, Long-listed IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, Long-listed North Carolina Children's Book Award ML, Long-listed IRA Teachers' Choices, Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award Master List, Long-listed Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award ML, Long-listed Louisiana YR Choice Book Award Master List, Long-listed Book Sense Children's Pick, Winner NCSS-CBC NotableTrade-Soc.Stdy, Winner CCBC Choice (Univ. of WI), NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, Long-listed Indiana Young Hoosier Award Master List, Nominated Beacon of Freedom Award Nominee, Long-listed Kentucky Blue Grass Award Master List, North Carolina Children's Book Award Master List
ISBN: 9780312550189