Book Summary:
This story, though fictional, is based on the journey of Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland in 1820, but the book begins once she is an adult talking with God about escaping slavery. After conferring with God, she makes her mind up that she will flee the next day. She escapes at night after the Lord sends her a sign - an owl screeching.
Harriet travels long and far by herself through swamps, woods, rivers, and darkness. She has to hide several times in fear that someone may catch her and take her back to be whipped by her master. She even hides in a potato hole for seven days.
Many people help Harriet along the way, like a farmer, a boatman, and a couple in a wagon (who were all against slavery). She finally makes it to the "Promised Land" - Philadelphia, where she can be free.
She decides to go back for her family, but after talking with God, she leads more people to freedom besides just her family. God told her to be the Moses of her people. So Harriet went south again and again to rescue others from slavery (following the path of the Underground Railroad).
APA Reference of Book:
Weatherford, C. B. (2006). MOSES: When Harriet Tubman led
her people to freedom. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for
Children.
Impressions:
Just seeing the beautiful colors on the cover made me want to pick this book up, and knowing it won two awards (Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award) was enticing too.
The illustrations are fabulous - full of color and emotion. The darkness shows the intensity of Harriet Tubman's travels, and the lightness shows the glimpses of hope and her final freedom. Kadir Nelson does a wonderful job illustrating the story; the illustrations really make the book "come to life."
Not only are the illustrations great, but the story is wonderful too. I enjoyed the different writings - the story is told in one font, Harriet's thoughts and conversations with God are in another font, and God's words are in big, bold letters. I think this shows the importance of God's words to Harriet.
I also love the lessons of perseverance and faith that can be found through the story of Harriet's journey. Even when she wanted to give up, she prayed "Lord, make me strong. Help me fight." Even though I knew how the story would end, I felt a sense of joy as she was freed and led others to freedom.
I believe this is a wonderful book that has a lasting impact on its readers. If I had this book when I was being taught American history, I believe learning would have stuck with me better.
Professional Review:
"Weatherford's poetic telling of Harriet Tubman's role as a conductor on the Underground Railroad combines with Nelson's larger-than-life illustrations to portray the spiritual life of the African American visionary. The story takes readers from Tubman's early days as a slave, through her decision to escape, and into her life as a free person who detested the institution of slavery so vehemently that she returned to the South nineteen times to free three hundred slaves, including her family members. Weatherford uses three different narrative voices to explore Tubman's relationship with God: a third-person narrator, telling of her life and trials; the voice of Harriet herself, who (in an italicized font) speaks her doubts and pleas directly to God; and God's words to Harriet - "HARRIET, I WILL MAKE A WAY FOR YOU" - set in large, translucent type. The interaction between these narrative voices makes clear that it was Tubman's strong faith that sustained her on the freedom journeys so dramatically evoked in Nelson's richly atmospheric nightscapes. Several key scenes bring Harriet in close visual proximity to the reader to emphasize both her emotional turmoil and her strength. Moses offers a visual and literary experience of Tubman's life on a par with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney's Minty."
Martin, M. H. (2006). [Moses]. Horn Book Magazine, 82(6),
737-738. Retrieved from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:
9443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=brd&AN=518448738&scope=site
Library Uses:
Moses could be used in the library when learning about important people in American history. After reading the book, students could relate Harriet Tubman to another important figure in U.S. history that displayed the same bravery or persistence. Then, they could compare and contrast the two figures using a Venn diagram. Another day, they could write about someone they personally know that inhibits the same traits as the two historical figures. They could even invite the people they selected to come to the library as they read their stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment