Dear Parents and Educators,
The six novels in The Freedom Seekers series offer an excellent way to gain a national view of the political climate in 1857. In that critical period in American history, steamboats carried immigrants to newly opened land. Rivers were the highways of the time and the mighty Mississippi a well-traveled route. In spite of danger, injustice, and the possible loss of all they had, people of many faiths, rich and poor, slave or free, worked together for what they believed about the rights and freedoms of individuals. In life-or-death situations children, teens, and adults built the Underground Railroad.
As I returned to this series to write study guides I was struck by the similarities between then and now. Though we are a vital part of the electronic age with its countless breakthroughs, some things have not changed—the need to value and uphold our American freedoms, the need to cherish human life, the need to stand for what we believe. Even as we had overcomers then, we have The Freedom Seekers now.
The Freedom Seekers series also offers tools for teaching topics that help our growth as individuals. Libby, Captain Norstad, Caleb, Jordan, and their friends face questions that are still crucial today:
• Who can I trust?
• What do I really care about?
• What does it mean to be a never-give-up family?
• How can I live my belief in the freedoms established by our founding fathers? Especially see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, Amendment 1, and also Amendments 13, 14, and 15.
• In what ways do I need to recognize the Lord’s leading in both daily and life-or-death situations?
• What practical skills should I develop?
• Why do I need to put my faith in God?
• How can I live with biblical principles and values?
• How can I make choices based on those principles and values?
• And how can I encourage others to do the same?
The Freedom Seekers series weaves together fictional characters with carefully researched people who lived or were known in 1857. Each novel stands alone but is best read in sequence to see the growth of characters and relationships. A new character, Peter, who is deaf, joins the Christina family in the fourth book.
Prepare students for reading each novel by talking about the cover. With Race for Freedom you might want to ask, “Who are the characters? Can you guess what Libby has been doing? Why do you think Caleb is looking around? What do you suppose Jordan is thinking?”
Then encourage your students to just enjoy reading the story. If needed, they can take random notes to help them find details for later use, but ask them to wait with answering questions or doing activities. After reading a book through, students can return to it and glean added information to answer study questions or do other activities.
Each study guide gives you the ability to move through the questions and activities at a pace that is right for your students. Topics are organized in sections such as talking about the story, making choices, being a never-give-up family, following God’s leading, discussing ideas about freedom, ideas for writen or oral responses, and a digging deeper section for students who want to study further.
Your own love of reading may be one of your strongest motivators for encouraging others to read. That love and the discernment that follows will become an important gift you offer the children and young people you influence.
Whether you read these novels aloud, as a group, or your students read them individually, I hope that all of you enjoy them. May each of you also be blessed by growing deeper in your walk as a Freedom Seeker.
With warm regards,
Lois Walfrid Johnson