Freedom to Read: The Story of Teacher Mary Peake and One Mighty Oak Tree

Simon & Schuster, August 25, 2026

From Newbery Honor author Lesa Cline-Ransome and ALA Children’s Literature Legacy Award recipient James Ransome, this inspiring picture book biography tells the story of Mary Peake, a courageous teacher who started a secret school for Black children.

So many found sanctuary in Mary’s secret schoolhouse. They found freedom in letters. In Mary’s teaching, they found a refuge.

Mary Peake was born free in 1823 in Norfolk, Virginia, and from a young age she hungered for learning. Mary attended a colored school in her youth, but when Virginia lawmakers outlawed education for colored students, both enslaved and free, the schools had to close their doors. Mary wanted nothing more than to share the gift of education, so she opened up her home as a secret school, risking punishment in order to teach.

When the Civil War broke out, Mary and her community found refuge in a Union camp, and Mary set up a new schoolhouse under the branches of a proud oak tree. Shoulder to shoulder, students of all ages gathered to hear Mary teach.

Mary’s crusade for education became a model for one of the first historically black colleges, Hampton University. Her story is a celebration of one woman’s sacrifices for the freedom to read.