Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book

"Designed to present youngsters with a moral choice . . . the author, a former teacher, clearly intended Unspoken to be a challenging book, its somber sepia tone drawings establish a mood of foreboding." —The New York Times Book Review

*"Moving and emotionally charged." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"Gorgeously rendered in soft dark pencils, this wordless book is reminiscent of the naturalistic pencil artistry of Maurice Sendak and Brian Selznick." —School Library Journal, starred review

*"Cole conjures significant tension and emotional heft (his silent storytelling calls to mind Brian Selznick's recent work) in this powerful tale of quiet camaraderie and courage." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"From the title on, silence and secrets create stirring drama in this wordless picture book . . . children will be moved to return to the images many times and fill in their own words." —Booklist

"What Cole shows so superbly through his accomplished yet unpretentious pencil art-the ideal medium for the book, as it looks as if it's of the era as well as portraying the era-is the keeping of secrets. The entire family appears to know what's going on, but the extent of each character's involvement is never made explicit." —Horn Book