Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the topic of slavery is, and should be, disturbing, and young children will need help understanding. Harriet is in danger through much of the book. There is also a strong spiritual element to the book in Tubman's many conversations with God.
Families who read this book could discuss slavery. What was it? Why was it practiced? How could people have treated others this way? Also, How did Harriet's faith give her the courage to do what she did? For families practicing a religion, how does Harriet's faith resemble and differ from your family's idea of faith?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
Two things set this story of Harriet Tubman apart from the many others on the market. The first is the focus of the text. Rather than a simple retelling of the known events of her life, this is instead a somewhat fictionalized account of Tubman's spiritual journey. As told in the swirling, lyrical writing, filled with rhythm and internal rhyme, these are her conversations with God, whose voice she hears in the breeze and the songs of birds, whose face she sees reflected in moonlight on swamp water. The book consists primarily of these conversations, before, during, and after her flight, laid out in clever typography that enhances the meaning.
The second is the artwork, a series of two-page, borderless paintings that are nothing short of spectacular. Clear, vivid, bathed in light even in the darkness, they accent the spirituality and add a powerful emotional expressiveness to the book. Combined with the poetic text, the images create a musical quality; a chanted spiritual of uplift and veneration that turns this oft-told historical tale into something more. It's more than just the tale of a brave woman freeing slaves, it's a testament to something that engages the heart and senses, as well as the mind, and hums in the soul long after the cover is closed.
From The Book
On a summer night, Harriet gazes at the sky and talks with God.
I am your child, Lord; yet, Master owns me, drives me like a mule.
Now he means to sell me South in chains to work cotton,
rice, indigo or sugarcane; never to see my family again.
God speaks in a whippoorwill's song.
I SET THE NORTH STAR IN THE HEAVENS
AND I MEAN FOR YOU TO BE FREE.
Harriet sees the star twinkling.
Plot Summary:
Led by her faith, Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in the mid-19th century, then returns, first to free her family, and then 18 more times to help other slaves escape by way of the Underground Railroad to freedom. Enduring hardship and fear, she is sustained by her belief in a protective God who has given her a mission.
Includes a Foreword about slavery, and an Author's Note about Tubman's life.
Related Books:
More About Harriet Tubman:
Wanted Dead Or Alive: The True Story Of Harriet Tubman by Ann Mcgovern and R. M. Powers
Who Was Harriet Tubman? by Yona Zeldis McDonough and Nancy Harrison
Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry
A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman by David A. Adler and Samuel Byrd
Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford
Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman by Monica Kulling and Teresa Flavin
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney
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ViolenceWhippings are mentioned. An Author's Note tells how Tubman was hit in the head and almost killed. She is in danger through much of the book. |
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Social BehaviorTubman repeatedly risks her life to help others. |
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