Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington's Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away; Young Readers Edition

Really excellent biography of the Washington's escaped slave Ona Judge. I appreciated that the author offers a lot of ideas for how Ona would have reacted emotionally to things that happen in her life, but is careful to remind us that we know very little about her, and to base these impressions off

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of Ona's own words. I also loved that the author is able to lay out the main complicated issues around slavery and around what different states and cities were doing about it without ever letting the reader forget that the act of enslaving another human being is wrong and that it is a horrific part of American history. I also loved reading about the people who weren't willing to break laws on Washington's behalf. Realyl well done. Probably on the teen end.

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Ona Judge, sometimes called Oney, grew up as a slave on George Washington's plantation, Mount Vernon. She was Martha Washington's personal handmaid, and traveled with the family to New York and Philadelphia. When she learned that she was to be given as a gift to Eliza Custis, Martha Washington's

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spoiled granddaughter, she took her freedom. One night, while the Washingtons were at dinner, she walked out of the house and boarded a ship that took her to New Hampshire, where she started a new life. Of course, the Washingtons were outraged, and determined to get Ona back, but despite several efforts, she remained free for the rest of her life.

This is the Young Readers' Edition of Dunbar's similarly-titled adult book. I think it would be very accessible for a middle-school reader with some knowledge of US history. The writing is straightforward, and includes definitions of terms (e.g. abolition, manumission) in the text when the authors deem necessary. The authors do make a choice to speculate on motives and emotions for the historical figures when such things cannot be known, but it's always clear that they are speculating and not stating facts ("Ona might have felt..."). All in all, a good historical book for young readers, though adults may find it over-simplified in spots.

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