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Grades 3-5. Halfmann focuses mostly on Smalls as a young slave whose master lets him work on the waterfront, and then on the planning of his secret escape to freedom. Spacious, impressionistic oil paintings accompany a text that describes Smalls, who, when the Civil War breaks out, uses his expert navigational skills and knowledge of the secret steam-whistle signals to guide his ship past harbor guards to escape with his family and crew. Suspense mounts as the women and children on the boat hide “in pindrop quiet” as their boat passes one, two, then three forts. When the boat finally reaches the Union side, the passengers must must prove that they are fugitives, not enemies. The strongly impressionistic art, largely in shades of brown and blue, will appeal most to older children; there are close-up portraits of Smalls studying charts and maps, and then open views of ocean and sky that speak to freedom. An afterword and source notes fill in Smalls’ important political role. .
Seven Miles to Freedom: The robert Smalls Story by Janet Halfmann, Lee & Low Books, 2008.
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