Chains Resources

A timeline made by a history student showing the major events in Isabel's life throughout the book.

Whether you're a student seeking to understand the book better or a teacher using Chains in your classroom, Anderson's website offers tons of fun activities for thinking critically about the book. Check out the playlist of songs related to the story.

Your journey with Isabel and Curzon doesn't have to stop now! Check out Forge and Ashes, the other two books in Laurie Halse Anderson's Seeds of America Trilogy, to learn what happens to them next.

In this 2009 interview with BFK Books, Anderson talks about slavery in the 1700s, her research process, and reveals her favorite fiction writers.

Laurie Halse Anderson talks with AudioFile Magazine about hearing voices—and how it's essential to her writing process.

Hear the story of Isabel and Ruth told in rap style as this student breaks it down in his school project.

Anderson reads from Chains at the 2008 National Book Award ceremonies, where she was a finalist.

In this interview with Read Write Think's podcast, Text Messages, Anderson talks about her passion for writing for teens, the themes of survival in her novels, and how she deals with writing about difficult and disturbing subject matter.

When blogger and children's book illustrator Michelle Henninger began reading Chains to her children, she was inspired to illustrate some of the key scenes in the novel. This depiction of Isabel and Ruth's first meeting with Madam Lockton, as well as other drawings, can be found on her blog.

An artist's rendering of the New York Fire of 1776.

A historical map of the city of New York circa 1776, with many locations from the book marked on it.