Reviewed by CCBC
Review Source: Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Book Author: Henry Cole
Black pencil illustrations on buff-colored pages detail a wordless story set during the Civil War. A quilt with the North Star pattern hung on a rail fence comprises the opening page spread, which is followed by a scene showing Confederate soldiers riding across a field bordering the fence. A young white girl on the farm is doing chores. Inside the barn she sees a single eye peering out from a shock of corn. Later, she sets a biscuit from the dinner table on the barn floor; other offerings follow. Two men in search of a runaway slave leave with the extra horse they brought along still rider-less. Continue reading.
Unspoken by Henry Cole
Published by Scholastic Press on 2012
Genres: African American, Slavery, U.S. History
Pages: 40
Reading Level: Early Childhood, Grade K, Grades 1-2
ISBN: 9780545399975
Review Source: Cooperative Children's Book Center
Buy at Powell's Books
Publisher's Synopsis: A young girl's courage is tested in this haunting, wordless story.
When a farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding in the barn, she is at once startled and frightened.
But the stranger's fearful eyes weigh upon her conscience, and she must make a difficult choice. Will she have the courage to help him?
Unspoken gifts of humanity unite the girl and the runaway as they each face a journey: one following the North Star, the other following her heart.
Henry Cole's unusual and original rendering of the Underground Railroad speaks directly to our deepest sense of compassion.
Interestingly, this book has been the subject of debate for teachers in my school. Although, we like that the white child has agency and a sense of morality, we dislike that the enslaved child who is risking everything to escape goes unseen. We’ve gone back and forth about whether this book is valuable as a means of teaching children the importance of taking action when they recognize it’s needed, or whether it is a validation of a white-centered perspective.