Book Review: Kite to Freedom

 

Kite to Freedom

The Story of a Kite-Flying Contest, the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, and the Underground Railroad

by Kathleen A. Dinan

Independent Publishers Group 

Cross Your Fingers

 Children's Fiction  |  Middle Grade 

Pub Date 25 Mar 2021

I am reviewing a copy of Kite to Freedom through Independent Publishing Group and Netgalley:

Is it possible for a kite to change history?  Katie and Homan's did.

After Engineers found themselves faced with the challenge of bridging the vast Niagara Gorge, the solution was a kite-flying contest.  After Katie and Homan’s kite crosses the gorge and wins the contest, construction begins on the first suspension bridge to connect the United States and Canada.

The two friends are there and learn that this is an important link on the Underground Railroad helping slaves escape to freedom.  Even as her parents try to shield her from the ugly existence of slavery and the dangers of the Underground Railroad, Katie discovers that the scary truth is closer to home than she could have imagined.

Kite to Freedom is an action packed, fictionalized account of actual events that occurred during the construction of the Niagara Falls International Suspension Bridge, which still connects the United States and Canada at Niagara Falls.   

I would recommend this book as a teaching tool, as well as just a generally great read to teach children about the Underground Railroad, and slavery.

I give Kite to Freedom five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!