Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Courage, doing the right thing are themes in thrilling bio.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
I AM HARRIET TUBMAN begins as the title character describes her early life born into slavery (including the fact that nobody knows her birthday because nobody kept track of enslaved people's birthdays in those days). As she learns from her parents and others, she finds the courage to flee to freedom -- and then to risk her own life and freedom to help other enslaved people escape. Which turns out to be just the beginning of a long, eventful life helping people in need.
Is It Any Good?
Introducing the heroic woman who escaped slavery and then faced many dangers to help others, this Ordinary People Change the World entry offers thrilling adventures and positive messages aplenty. In I Am Harriet Tubman, author Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopolous deliver a strong, relatable protagonist, often using words from her own writings to tell her story of a daily life in which you could be worked to death by a cruel enslaver or lose your family forever by being sold to another enslaver -- and what she decided to do about it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about slavery in the United States before the Civil War as portrayed in I Am Harriet Tubman. How did it affect the daily lives of people caught up in it? How would you feel if someone owned you and one day they sold you to someone else? What if they sold your mom instead?
I Am Harriet Tubman has a strong message about doing what you know is right, even when it's not safe or easy. Have you ever faced this kind of challenge in your own life? How did you deal with it?
Have you read other books in the Ordinary People Change the World series? Do you have any favorites? How does this one compare?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Christopher Eliopoulos
- Genre : Biography
- Topics : Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , History
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Dial Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : January 16, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 5 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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