President of the Underground Railroad: A Story About Levi Coffin (Creative Minds Biography)

Swain, Gwenyth

ISBN 10: 1575055511 ISBN 13: 9781575055510

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books, 2001

Synopsis

A biography of a Quaker man from North Carolina whose fearless work on the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio helped thousands of men and women escape the cruelty of slavery.

About this title

About the Author:

Gwenyth Swain is the author of more than two dozen books for young readers. A two-time winner of a Minnesota Book Award for children's nonfiction, she loves history and historical fiction. Ms. Swain runs the middle school and high school libraries at Twin Cities Academy in St. Paul. Formerly, she was a costumed history player at historic Fort Snelling, a soda jerk, and a bookstore clerk.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-6-As a child in North Carolina, Coffin saw coffles of slaves on their way to be sold to plantation owners. As Quakers, his family did not approve of slavery; by the age of 15, the young man was aiding runaway slaves. However, it wasn't until some years later when he had an income that he could afford to give them food, clothing, shelter, and transport. When he moved to Indiana, his home became part of the Underground Railroad. For years, Coffin made major contributions to abolitionist causes and eventually founded the Western Freedmen's Aid Commission. This is an accessible account (although one must wonder why the author felt it necessary to include details of Coffin's wife's brief affair for this audience), and the brutality and horrors of slavery are not watered down. The one or two black-and-white line drawings per chapter, reminiscent of woodcuts, add to the text. This biography of a little-known hero will supplement studies of the period.
Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1575055511
• ISBN 13: 9781575055510
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 64
• Illustrator: Ramstad Ralph L.