| A | B |
| craven | cowardly |
| desolation | lonliness |
| nestled | cuddled |
| subdued | calm, quiet |
| bondage | slavery |
| eccentric | peculiar, odd, different |
| spry | active, energetic, youthful |
| Ohio | state to which the Smalls are relocating |
| abolitionist | a person who wanted to get rid of slavery through laws |
| Dies Drear | Ohio abolitionist whose home was part of the Underground Railroad |
| Pluto | caretaker of the Drear house |
| Mr. Small | hired at the university to be a history professor |
| Harriet Tubman | known as the Moses of her people; a famous abolitionist |
| first person point of view | when one of the characters acts as a narrator |
| third person point of view | author as an outside observer tells a story |
| allusion | reference to a famous historical, mythological, biblical or literary person or event |
| cliffhanger | a moment of tension or suspense at the end of a chapter |
| metaphor | figure of speech in which a comparison is made by stating that something IS something else |
| Tuscaroras | Native American tribe that lived in Ohio |