Virginia Frances Schwartz,
Crossing to Freedom
Scholastic Canada, 2010.

Rating: G*

From the author of Send One Angel Down and If I Just Had Two Wings, Virginia Frances Schwartz's new title, Crossing to Freedom, is another riveting read based on this horrible time in the history of slavery. In the Author's Note, Schwartz explains her inspiration to write this book was from readers of her previous books on slavery who wondered about the lives of ex-slaves once they crossed over into Canada in the mid 1800's. Also included, Schwartz documents the expansive historical research behind the writing of Crossing to Freedom and how true events informed her characters, plot points, and the southern Ontario setting.

Told through the eyes of young Solomon, the book opens with Solomon on the run with a man named Levi and his Grandpa Jacob. With slave-catchers after them, Levi and Solomon are forced to leave Grandpa Jacob behind in a safe house to nurse an injury. After Solomon and Levi make a harrowing cross of the Niagara River, Levi becomes resolved to keep his promise to Grandpa Jacob, which is to find a school for Solomon. While on their search for work and a school, as new immigrants, they are met with exclusion and prejudice as well as acceptance and hospitality. They experience segregation and unfair wages, until they discover the town of Buxton, where ex-slaves are given the opportunity to buy their own land and seek an education.

During their quest to settle in, Solomon mourns the absence of Grandpa Jacob and wonders about the plight of his father who had escaped to Canada earlier. Bible readings, superstitions, and Solomon's ability to see ghosts add to the narrative tone and imbues the narrative with mystery. Solomon meets Old Ezekiel, the keeper of stories, who urges him to write a letter in search of his father. Solomon must overcome his feelings of inadequacy and use his education to write. The letter does eventually find his Pa, and father and son reunite. Soon after, they return to the Niagara River in search of Grandpa Jacob. They reunite at the Emancipation Day Parade on the very day Grandpa Jacob has taken the ferry across the river, and all is good in the world.

This is an uplifting story of survival that will be an excellent addition to a collection about the Underground Railroad.

Louise Sidley
Vol. 16, number 3
February 2011

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.