Seven Miles To Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story
Janet Halfmann; Illustrated By: Duane Smith

Reviewed by A. E. Jaskiewicz

Robert Smalls was a hard-working and well liked slave.  From the time he was young, he was a favorite of Master McKee on the South Carolina plantation where he grew up.  But, Robert always wanted freedom.  Freedom to learn, to read, to write.  Freedom to do all the things that Robert knew he and his enslaved brothers and sisters should have the rights to do.  Then, one day during the civil war, Robert saw an opportunity for freedom for he, his family, and the families of the crew on the boat he was working on.  He knew they were all a mere seven miles away from freedom.

At the start of the story, Robert Smalls was a young boy on a South Carolina plantation, where is mother was a house servant.  At the age of six, Robert started helping Master McKee with small chores, like brushing the horse.  As Robert got older, he gained permission from Master McKee to work at the docks, loading and unloading cargo from ships.  At seventeen, he met his wife-to-be, Hannah Jones.  Shortly after they married, the civil war started to break out.  As work in the boat yard slowed, Robert took a job helping to build the confederate army, all the while hoping for the Union to win the war, which would bring he and his family the freedom they longed for.  But, an unlikely opportunity would arise that would allow Robert and his family the opportunity for freedom sooner than he would have imagined.

Seven Miles To Freedom is truly an inspiring true story of courage and honor.  Janet Halfmann tells the tale of the bravery of one slave, who ended up not only gaining freedom for his family and friends, but also helped make great strides for rights of former slaves.

The illustrations in the book are a beautiful accompaniment for the text.  Duane Smith did a lovely job of making the pictures a little more grown up rather than childish.  That should definitely appeal to the intended 6 to 11 year age market for the book.  The older kids will even be able to appreciate the artwork.

The story is told in such a way that kids will enjoy learning a little piece of history.  The book moves smoothly through the story, and once the civil war hits, the action and suspense created in the story will keep kids interested, while helping them learn about a wonderful, historic figure.

 Seven Miles to Freedom has a good story for kids.  It is designed to help them learn, but is written in a way that will keep them interested.  Some kids in the older end of the age spectrum may shy away from the idea of reading a picture book, however, others may be able to appreciate the more grown up artwork and story.  Overall, I would say it is a good book to help kids learn something in a fun way.