 |
| Source: http://www.uri.edu/library/cml/resources/coretta.html |
At the beginning of the book, Harriet Tubman is still a slave in the South. She leaves everything and everyone behind one night to take both a spiritual and physical journey to freedom after singing a song as a clue to her loved ones. She is being chased for recapture, but finds inspiration through her faith in God. She follows the North Star. When dogs are tracking her scent, she travels through a brook because God spoke to her and kept her safe. Eventually, Harriet is exhausted and sleeps under a tree, surrounded by wildlife. She rides fearfully in the back of a wagon. She reaches freedom in the north, but feels called to help others, including her family, so she returns to make the dangerous trip with others.
Weatherford, C.B. (2006). Moses: When Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.
My Impressions:
The illustrations are amazing. Truly--you could remove the pages and frame them. The paintings are realistic 2-page spreads with gorgeous details. The one with all the animals surrounding her as she slept would have been my favorite as a child and it certainly spoke to me as an adult. The text was poetic and deep. While Weatherford took great liberties in adding the spiritual dialogue between Harriet Tubman and God, it really made the text as noteworthy as the illustrations. While the existence of the talk of God is something to be aware of within a children's library, I would feel confident defending the quality of this book should a complaint ever rise. I like that Harriet Tubman is not portrayed as angry or defiant as is sometimes the stereotype of African-Americans fighting for freedom from slavery or for other civil liberties. Instead, she is portratyed as strong, optimistic, and a leader.
Professional Reviews:
Gr 2-5-- Tubman's religious faith drives this handsome, poetic account of her escape to freedom and role in the Underground Railroad. The story begins with Tubman addressing God on a summer night as she is about to be sold south from the Maryland plantation where she and her husband live: "I am Your child, Lord; yet Master owns me,/drives me like a mule." In resounding bold text, God tells her He means for her to be free. The story is sketched between passages of prayerful dialogue that keep Tubman from giving up and eventually call upon her to be "the Moses of [her] people." Deep scenes of night fill many double pages as the dramatic paintings follow her tortuous journey, arrival in Philadelphia, and later trip to guide others. Shifting perspectives and subtle details, such as shadowy forest animals guarding her while she sleeps, underscore the narrative's spirituality. Whether filled with apprehension, determination, or serenity, Tubman's beautifully furrowed face is expressive and entrancing. A foreword briefly explains the practice of slavery and an appended note outlines Tubman's life. The words and pictures create a potent sense of the harsh life of slavery, the fearsome escape, and one woman's unwavering belief in God.
Bush, M. (2006). [Review of the book Moses: When Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom, by C.B. Weatherford]. School Library Journal, 52(10), 129-130. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com
In elegant free verse, Weatherford imagines Tubman's remarkable escape from slavery and her role in guiding hundreds to freedom. Diverse typography braids three distinct narrative strands. White or black type delivers the third-person immediacy of Harriet's journey: "At nightfall, Harriet climbs into a wagon, / and the farmer covers her with blankets. / As the wagon wobbles along, Harriet worries that it is heading to jail." Larger, italic type telegraphs the devout Harriet's prayerful dialogue with God: "Shall I leap, Lord?" God's responses to her beseeching questions garner capitalized letters in warm grays. Nelson's double-page, full-bleed paintings illuminate both the dire physical and transcendent spiritual journey. At night, the moon lights Harriet's care-wracked face below a deep teal, star-pricked sky. By day, she disappears: A distant safe farm appears under a wan blue sky; a wagon transporting the hidden Harriet silhouettes against a golden sunset. Unique perspective and cropping reveal Tubman's heroism. Reaching Philadelphia, she's haloed in sunlight. Embracing her role as conductor, Harriet's face, eyes on the journey ahead, fairly bursts the picture plane against a blazing blue sky. Transcendent. (foreword, author's note) (Picture book. 5-9)
In elegant free verse, Weatherford imagines Tubman's remarkable escape from slavery and her role in guiding hundreds to freedom. Diverse typography braids three distinct narrative strands. White or black type delivers the third-person immediacy of Harriet's journey: "At nightfall, Harriet climbs into a wagon, / and the farmer covers her with blankets. / As the wagon wobbles along, Harriet worries that it is heading to jail." Larger, italic type telegraphs the devout Harriet's prayerful dialogue with God: "Shall I leap, Lord?" God's responses to her beseeching questions garner capitalized letters in warm grays. Nelson's double-page, full-bleed paintings illuminate both the dire physical and transcendent spiritual journey. At night, the moon lights Harriet's care-wracked face below a deep teal, star-pricked sky. By day, she disappears: A distant safe farm appears under a wan blue sky; a wagon transporting the hidden Harriet silhouettes against a golden sunset. Unique perspective and cropping reveal Tubman's heroism. Reaching Philadelphia, she's haloed in sunlight. Embracing her role as conductor, Harriet's face, eyes on the journey ahead, fairly bursts the picture plane against a blazing blue sky. Transcendent. (foreword, author's note) (Picture book. 5-9)
[Review of the book Moses: When Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom, by C.B. Weatherford]. (2006). Kirkus Reviews, 74(17), 914. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com
Library Uses:
Inspired Bookmarks: Students create bookmarks about what they learned about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. They can show their thoughts with artwork or poetry/writing. The bookmarks can be displayed briefly then returned to students.
Inspired Bookmarks: Students create bookmarks about what they learned about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. They can show their thoughts with artwork or poetry/writing. The bookmarks can be displayed briefly then returned to students.
No comments:
Post a Comment