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Hamilton, Virginia. 1984. The House of Dies Drear.
Illustrations by Eros Keith. New York: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN: 0027425002. $17.00 (hardcover).
The house held secrets, Thomas knew, even
before he first saw it looming gray and massive on its ledge of rock. It had
a century-old legend--two fugitive slaves had been killed by bounty hunters
after leaving its passageways, and Dies Drear himself, the abolitionist who
had made the house into a station on the Underground Railroad, had been
murdered there. The ghosts of the three were said to walk its rooms... |
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Hamilton, Virginia. 1987. The Mystery of Drear House.
New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 0688040268.
$16.95 (hardcover). A black family
living in the house of long-dead abolitionist Dies Drear must decide what to
do with his stupendous treasure, hidden for one hundred years in a cavern
near their home. |
 | For both books, talk about the
Underground Railroad, conductors, routes. |
| Have the students pretend to be
reporters and write a story about the discovery of the house of Dies Drear
being a station on the underground railroad. Have the students include the
historical information from the story, as well as general information
about the Underground Railroad.
by Pam Draper |
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| Since the house remains a mystery
throughout the book with secret tunnels going everywhere, students could
design a map of the house showing where the tunnels lead to and from using
the descriptions from the book. This would help those visual learners
grasp the journeys the characters traveled.
by Mary Barr |
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| Grades 4-5, For The Mystery of Drear
House |
| Imagine that you were a reporter on the
scene when Professor Small announces his discovery of the treasure of Dies
Drear. Write and news story describing the cave, the treasure and the
people, especially the Smalls, the Darrows and Mr. Pluto.
by Jo Anne Marie Patton
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| For House of Dries Drear: |
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This book naturally
prompts an in-depth research of the Underground Railroad movement during
the Civil War. Children can do individual research projects using school
libraries as resources, or teachers can bring in books for children to
discuss in the classroom. For older readers, I would suggest North by
Night: A Story of the Underground Railroad by Katherine Ayers. It is a
diary-type story of a 16 year-old girl who is escaping slavery with her
mother through the Underground Railroad. For younger readers, I would
suggest Follow the Drinking Gourd. It is an old African-American
folktale about how fugitive slaves would head towards freedom. There are
several retellings available, including a Reading Rainbow selection video
and book. I would suggest The House of Dies Drear for readers age 9-12,
although I think readers older than that could enjoy it when it was tied
to a historical view of the Civil War and the Underground Railroad.
by Lauren de Decker |
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Grades 4-5 |
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This novel would fit
well into a unit on Black history or the Civil War. Perhaps one activity
would be to visit the website listed below. Developed by National
Geographic, it is a virtual journey on the Underground Railroad. |
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http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/
by Jo Anna Patton |
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