From ALSC: "A lyrical narrative tells the story of several children who escape slavery to discover freedom among a community of formerly enslaved Black people living in the Great Dismal Swamp." From SLJ: "A fascinating look at a fictional Black resistance settlement in little-known place."

This year’s Coretta Scott King and Caldecott winner, and well deserved. I think it’s an extremely difficult thing to write a book about something as brutal as slavery for children. This book has whippings, the removal of fingers , branding and more and yet manages to inspire the invested reader to keep them feeling hopeful and give them a sense of purposeful action. Very well done ( )

I had to do it. I had to read the book that won the Newbery Medal yet had not been mentioned anywhere. At least not that I could find ;) And at the end of the day, I think this is a very good selection to have indeed won. Especially when I think of the criteria.

Every character has a voice. From Homer who escapes from the Southerland Plantation and has no idea of where he is going. From Sanzi who longs to leave Freewater, the community/safe haven in the swamp for the "romantic" outside world. From Billy and Ferdinand and Juna--other Freewater children who still struggle with childlike issues and feelings. From Nora who is an outcast from her white family and who feels more of a connection to the slaves on her family's plantation. While I did struggle with the cast of characters feeling numerous at times, all of them did play a part in the story.

I felt the struggles and conflict. I literally had no idea how the book was going to end. Like was Homer going to get his mom from Southerland Plantation and go back to Freewater. I'm glad he did but legitimately, I was unsure until the final page. . I felt the mystery in the swamp location. I will confess to not knowing about Maroon Communities. How yes slaves escaped and sought to flee North on the Underground Railroad. That's the part that has been taught in schools. But I was unaware of how slaves fled into the swamp lands and made lives there. That it was very prevalent. I want to learn more about this part of our history.

It's beautifully written. A debut offering, I'll be intrigued to see what Amina Luqman-Dawson writes next. ( )

This year's Newbery medalist tells the story of Freewater, a refuge for escaped slaves in the antebellum south. Two children run away from their plantation and are saved by the inhabitants of Freewater. They come to know what it means to be free, and go back to rescue their mother and friends.

A gripping narrative with great characters, I loved that this story was based on the actual existence of such communities in the swamps. I can easily see the book becoming a favorite for middle graders for its story and then leading them to learn more about slavery and the ways black people resisted it. Definitely recommended. ( )

12 year old Homer and his little sister Ada escape from Southland plantation, only to be separated from their mother and lost in a dangerous swamp. A strange man swings down from the trees to rescue them and leads them to a safe-haven hidden deep in the swamp called Freewater. As the children adjust to the tough but beautiful and free life there, they make new friends and decide to go back to the plantation to try to rescue their mother and Homer's old friend with the help of their new friends. Dangers and the harshness of a cruel master are not softened in this book, but the adventuresome spirit of the kids and the feat they take on overshadows the horror of the reality. Would be good for grade 5-8. ( )