Friday, January 16th, 1863

We huddled there, all holding onto each other. The bushes prickled something awful, but we none of us paid them any mind at all. We heard the dogs coming closer and closer, baying and howling just the way they were the night Uncle Bo got caught. Men were shouting, too. The noise was fierce and it was coming straight at us. I held my breath and prayed as hard as I could. I knew real well those dogs could smell us easy as could be in those bushes. All I could think of was Uncle Bo shot and hanging dead in that tree.

Northern Terminus: The African Canadian History Journal/Vol.7/2010 Grey Roots: Museum & Archives
A Desperate Road to Freedom: The Underground Railroad Diary of Julia May Jackson
Review by Cindy Newton

In A Desperate Road to Freedom: The Underground Railroad Diary of Julia May Jackson, author Karleen Bradford has created an absorbing fictional account of a young girl's journey from slavery to freedom...Set in 1863 during the American Civil War and told from the perspective of a precocious eleven-year old, A Desperate Road to Freedom is largely a story about family.
      As other slaves begin fleeing to Union lines in response to the Emancipation Proclamation, Julia May's family is compelled to escape their forced labour on a Virginia tobacco plantation. A quick pace is established from the earliest pages, when she is awakened by her mother to begin their perilous flight. Her parents are desperate to keep the remaining family intact, after three of their children are sold by the plantation master. They run, knowing the consequences of being caught are severe, and follow the Underground Railroad to Canada, eventually settling in Owen Sound.
      Bradford is able to evoke a sense of place and time in few words, complementing the brevity of the diary format. Family members and other characters are well developed and relationships are central to the unfolding of the story. Strong themes emerge through the compelling narrative, of freedom, loss, education as a liberating force, the pioneering struggle to adapt in a new land, and how social conditions can impact the bonds of family and friendship. Historical people are included as characters in the book, an interweaving of fact and fiction that familiarizes the story and should inspire readers to learn more about this integral part of local history.
      Although the target audience for A Desperate Road to Freedom is adolescent girls, readers of both genders and all ages can appreciate the story and it is appropriate for classroom study (Scholastic has published teaching resource guides for earlier books in the Dear Canada series). It is evident that Bradford has carefully researched the conditions, locations and historic events experienced by her characters. While she does not shy away from depicting the hardships of slavery, war, migration, poverty and racism, this is done in a manner sensitive to young readers. A Notes section includes historical information, copies of relevant documents, and resources such as a recipe and song lyrics that invite readers to participate in activities referred to in the story. Julia May's first-person account personalizes and provides insight about struggles, attitudes and practices that children and young adults today may find difficult to imagine. They will have no difficulty identifying with her spirit, though. July May is an inquisitive, engaging character whose diary entries reveal a maturing awareness of the world and her own strengths and personal challenges.
...       A Desperate Road to Freedom brings to life, from Julia May's perspective, an important period in North American history and, as the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad, Owen Sound is a significant setting for this story. Readers will gain a greater understanding of how a network of compassionate people and abolitionists helped escaped slaves from the southern states elude capture, and of the great risks facing all involved. Bradford has written an intriguing, informative historical novel that captures the imagination and encourages thought about the importance of family and freedom, and subjects such as human rights, multiculturalism, and war that are just as relevant and crucial today.

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**** /4

"Fans of the "Dear Canada" series will be thrilled that a new title is available. A Desperate Road to Freedom: The Underground Railroad Diary of Julia May Jackson makes an impressive addition to these popular fictional historical diaries for nine- to thirteen-year-olds. Not only does Karleen Bradford's story provide a long needed supplement - or even replacement - for Barbara Smucker's now-classic Underground to Canada, it also provides a gripping read, period. Any reader, of any age or background, reading for any purpose at all, will surely be unable to put this book down. It is a work of outstanding excellence.
      "Bradford wields the notoriously difficult diary form effortlessly, overcoming such potential stumbling blocks as plausibility in relation to historical accuracy, reiteration of dialogue, and even issues of spelling, with ingenuity and grace. Her protagonist, Julia May, a gifted, determined learner and spirited girl who is also charmingly tenderhearted towards her family and friends, provides a hook that draws in readers from the first page right through to the last. Julia May is such an interesting character that her domestic interactions alone would provide a compelling narrative; in combination with a pitch perfect plot that follows her harrowing escape from slavery in Virginia, her adjustment to a new life in Toronto, and finally her challenging relocation to Owen Sound, Julia May's story becomes a page-turner. But this is not the stuff of romance and fancy: Bradford's meticulous research, as well as the inspiration of her own ancestors' real experiences, is abundantly evident throughout. Although Julia May was not a real person, she very well could have been. This, in conjunction with her irresistible, endearing nature, provide an effective way to build readers' understanding of and empathy for African American slaves of this period, driving home a still-current message about universal human rights.
      "In weaving together all of these elements, Bradford delivers on the "Dear Canada" promise, providing a book that is rewarding to read in and of itself, but one that can also be used as the basis for a multitude of school projects. In addition to providing a useful tie-in to the topic of the Underground Railroad, this book also celebrates the early roots of multiculturalism in Canada which are worth remembering today, when a multitude of challenges threaten it; children deserve to be reminded of our egalitarian Canadian values, and this book provides an excellent way to do so.
      "There is no doubt that A Desperate Road to Freedom should have a place in every library and classroom in Canadian schools. This book will become a new classic."

Highly Recommended.
Michelle Superle, CM, Volume XVI Number 3, September 18, 2009
Michelle Superle teaches children's literature, composition, and creative writing at the University of the Fraser Valley.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association.

"A fine contribution to the literature of the Underground Railroad, this is one to share with your children."
Review by Andrew Armitage
Owen Sound Sun Times

Mary's family are Loyalists, loyal to England during the American Revolution. Mary's brother, Angus, has even fought with the British army. When the war ends with victory for the new United States of America, the MacDonalds are forced to flee to Canada, leaving almost all they own behind them. This is the story of their flight north and the incredible difficulties and hardships they face settling in the deep, uncleared Canadian forest.

"Well, I read WITH NOTHING BUT OUR COURAGE which is GREAT. My mom was yelling 'Go to bed!' but I couldn't stop reading."
Alex Chabun, a young reader

"Scholastic has assembled some of Canada's most talented writers to pen an outstanding historical fiction series called "Dear Canada." Through careful research, gifted storytelling, credible and likable characters, the current four books in this series bring the past to life through the stories of ordinary young people who lived through the extraordinary early days of our country.
In Karleen Bradford's WITH NOTHING BUT OUR COURAGE, 12-year-old Mary MacDonald's family are branded traitors by the patriots during the American War of Independence when they choose to remain loyal to the British. Publicly humiliated and threatened by their neighbours, they are forced to leave their home near Albany, New York, in the fall of 1783. They travel north to Canada to start a new life. Mary's diary entries recount the treacherous journey, the cruel weather, emotional hardships, sacrifices and physical struggles. Girls will identify with Mary's uncertainties and growing sense of self, her fears and her friendships. And because she's such a real and compelling character, the history becomes not a lesson, but a fascinating backdrop for her tale."
Review by Stephanie Simpson McLellan
Today's Parent, May 2002
Five star review

"In WITH NOTHING BUT OUR COURAGE, Mary MacDonald feels 'like a feather bed that's been shaken out, turned upside down and jumped on' when former Patriot friends in Albany, New York, publicly ridicule her father and violently force her family out of town. With only a few belongings, Mary leaves her home to travel with her family through hostile Patriot lands. She knows she is headed to a faraway place called Québec where families loyal to the king have been assured land. But Mary worries for her family's safety, her distraught mother, her brother Angus who is off fighting the Patriots, and baby Margaret who is not taking the journey well. The journey is difficult, yet Mary discovers true friendship with a girl her age named Hannah and in the community of escaped Loyalist families.
This book is an appealing combination of Mary's story and more practical insights into how Mary lived, through, for example, recipes and herbal remedies...In Mary, Bradford has created a practical, capable character who takes us into the experiences of the fleeing Loyalists and their efforts to build a new home out of the wilderness."
Review by Karen Krossing
Books in Canada, May 2002

Karleen Bradford has written much historical fiction, and she goes to great pains to "get it right." This story feels right. The attitudes and emotions ring true: the ailing baby dies, children make friends and find pets. And history is made. It's interesting both as a story and as history and certainly gives a lot of background information on which further facts of the period can be hung. It is a very successful addition to the "Dear Canada" series.
Highly Recommended.
Review by Mary Thomas
CM Magazine, Volume VIII Number 21
June 21, 2002
(Mary Thomas works in two elementary schools in Winnipeg, MB, and rejoices that so many teachers, and now students, are coming in looking for books by Canadian authors. This one sat on the shelf for about 10 minutes!)

"This excellent novel portrays life for families loyal to the King of England in the days of the American rebellion against the British...
Karleen Bradford portrays this time in history very well. The detail used to describe the setting is outstanding and is seamlessly interwoven into the story. MaryÕs journal entries are emotional, and her passion for her family is evident throughout. The journal style of this novel is part of what makes it successful. We get to know the characters through a likeable, positive young girl. As well, Bradford keeps the pace of the novel steady. The realistic challenges faced by this family uprooted by war would be easily transferable to many facing the same strife today. The novel moves from despair, to hope, to survival and success. The novel explores what it is like to have a comfortable life suddenly changed and to have to start over with nothing but courage and determination - an excellent historical fiction novel."
Reviewed by John Dryden
Resource Links, Volume 7, Number 5
June 2002

A Novel Studies Activities Guide is available. Details.

"'Hey, Jag,' Kevin said, 'did you hear that Trace won best puppy at the show last weekend? That gives him his first points. He'll be a champion by the spring at this rate.' Jag felt blood roaring in his ears. He hauled angrily on Ranny's lead."

Jag's beautiful golden retriever has lost a leg and Jag has lost his dream of her becoming a champion. She'll never be a winner now. And once again, Kevin, his arch rival, will come out on top.

From the moment Alison sets foot in the forbidding old house she's aware of a mysterious presence in one of its rooms. There she discovers an ancient diary belonging to a girl who lived in the same house, centuries before. What does this girl want...and why is she so sure only Alison can help her?

"Karleen Bradford demonstrates once again the ability to develop a pervasive mood and sustain it in a story full of intriguing characters and mystifying events." (Children's book News, the Canadian Children's Book Centre)

"...a compelling read right to the exciting climax." (Quill & Quire)

To order Haunting at Cliff House please email me.

The large, black stone in the meadow in Cornwall held a strange, hypnotic fascination for Jenifer. Could it really transport her back in time--a hundred years...a thousand years...?

"...a poignant, beautifully-told story..." (Reviewing Librarian)

"...compelling in its action and intriguing in the details of the Druids and their way of life." (Quill & Quire)

Sunbird Books, The Macmillan Company of Australia Pty. Ltd., 1990.

Thirteen-year-old Rachel's dreams of a career in ballet dancing are shattered when her parents divorce. Rachel blames her mother for the break-up and her resentment is increased when her mother takes them away from Toronto to live in an old farmhouse out in the country where she cannot continue her ballet classes. To make matters even worse, her mother has agreed to take in sixteen-year old Jess, a boy from the slums of Toronto, for the summer. Jess's unfailing good nature, his patience with Rachel's younger sister, Chris, his willingness to help, just make Rachel more frustrated and hurt. It takes a visit from her father and a near tragedy to help Rachel realize that "unicorns do exist--if you know where to look."

"A light, easy-reading novel..." (Canadian Materials)

"...characterizations of Rachel, her little sister and her unhousewifely artist-mother, impaled on Rachel's harsh judgements, are excellent." (Macleans Magazine)

To order I Wish There Were Unicorns please email me.

Elizabeth was visiting Upper Canada Village with her grade 7 class when she stepped into Cook's Tavern and heard a man say, "Why, it's young Elizabeth Frobisher." Only that wasn't her name. She was Elizabeth Duncan and...she had somehow stepped into the past!

Who was this other Elizabeth?

"...a time-shift story in which...the transition is handled with remarkable skill..." (Globe & Mail)

Gyldendalska Boghandel, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1988.
(Drama i vildmarken)

To his grandfather hunting is a sport, but to Robbie it's senseless killing. And the two of them, who can't seem to agree on anything, are stuck together for a whole year.

"Karleen Bradford accomplishes it all in a well-crafted tale; excellent characterization of both young and old, realistic and believable situations, and a reasonable resolution." (Canadian Children's Literature)