In 1860, 11-year-old Lucy and her brother Albert despair when their parents are sold off the plantation. One day Albert brings home a sack of old quilts, and their patterns are secret messages to slaves to help them plan their escape via the Underground Railroad. Color illustrations.

Marcia Vaughan Crews has written numerous books for young readers, including picture books, beginning readers, and both fiction and nonfiction series. Crews lives in Tacoma, Washington.

Larry Johnson has illustrated several children's books, including Knoxville, Tennessee by Nikki Giovanni, When Joe Louis Won the Title, and Lee & Low's The Secret to Freedom, praised by School Library Journal for its "expressive acrylic paintings ... rich in color and emotion." He also serves as a Youth Minister at a Baptist church and is a cohost of a weekend sports radio show. Johnson and his wife live in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Visit him online at larryjohnsonart.com.