Pearsall, S. (2002). Trouble Don't Last. New York: Random House.
Samuel is an 11 year old boy born into slavery where Mz Catherine and Mas'r Hackler do not make his life easy, neither do their two sons. Until one day when fellow slave Harrison,much older than him, wakes him up and forces him to run for freedom. The book carries their journey navigating the Underground Railroad, full of distrust and both whites and blacks that Harrison teaches Samuel to be cautious of. Throughout their journey, Samuel learns of Harrison's secrets and Samuel's past, including his mother and grandfather's identities.
Historical Fiction Chapter book - Historical Era - Slavery and the Underground Railroad of 1859
Grades 6-8
Seeing that my theme is slavery and Trouble Don't Last won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction book, it seemed only fitting that it be the first book that I place into my study of slavery. There will be many stories from the slaves point of view while I cover this topic. I personally love books from a unique perspective and when reading to children, I love books from a child's perspective. I was also reading this book alongside my eleven year old niece. I believe that as readers we love to talk about our reading, so whenever I can, I like to talk about my reading with someone. It just happened that she was reading this book as well.
Because of the language and the dialect used in this book, this book lends itself well to guided reading. There is a lot that a teacher can help to guide the students into understanding. There is a lot of discussion around character's feeling and motivations - like why Samuel continually wants to go back to his master? Why does he not want to find freedom? These are questions that having a teacher pose to students allows them to think about and delve into.
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