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by Kathryn Talalay (Author), Jane McIlvaine (Illustrator)
Desperate for freedom, a young Black girl embarks on a harrowing journey, hoping to stay one step ahead of slavecatchers and their bloodhounds. A young Black boy, who lives on the same plantation, also makes his own perilous escape. Crammed inside a wooden crate, he secretly ships himself North, entrusting his fate to a steamer headed for New York. They both hope to find each other again, far from the shackles of enslavement.
Skylark: Flight to Freedom is a YA novel that transports readers from 1840s Virginia-when a third of its population was enslaved-to the present day. It traces the parallel journeys of two teenagers-Skylark and Douglass-united by love and a shared hope for freedom. In the African tradition of magical realism, celestial stars speak, a Black conjurer shapeshifts, serpents leave false clues, and a quilt guides Skylark toward a new life. Full-color illustrations vividly bring to life this tale of courage and hope during one of America's darkest periods.
