Description: A young girl's courage is tested in this haunting, wordless story. When a farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding in the barn, she is at once startled and frightened. But the stranger's fearful eyes weigh upon her conscience, and she must make a difficult choice. Illustrations.
Review Quotes:
Praise for Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad
A New York Times Best Illustrated Book
"[D]esigned to present youngsters with a moral choice . . . the author, a former teacher, clearly intended Unspoken to be a challenging book, its somber sepia tone drawings establish a mood of foreboding." -The New York Times Book Review
*"Moving and emotionally charged." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
*"Gorgeously rendered in soft dark pencils, this wordless book is reminiscent of the naturalistic pencil artistry of Maurice Sendak and Brian Selznick." -School Library Journal, starred review
*"Cole conjures significant tension and emotional heft (his silent storytelling calls to mind Brian Selznick's recent work) in this powerful tale of quiet camaraderie and courage." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
"From the title on, silence and secrets create stirring drama in this wordless picture book . . . children will be moved to return to the images many times and fill in their own words." -Booklist
"What Cole shows so superbly through his accomplished yet unpretentious pencil art-the ideal medium for the book, as it looks as if it's of the era as well as portraying the era-is the keeping of secrets. The entire family appears to know what's going on, but the extent of each character's involvement is never made explicit." -Horn Book