Publisher: Dial Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 16th, 2018
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository* | iBooks* |
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Blurb from goodreads:
Harriet Tubman's heroic and pivotal role in the fight against slavery is the subject of the fourteenth picture book in this New York Times bestselling biography series
This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great--the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of one of America's icons in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers and that always includes the hero's childhood influences. At the back are an excellent timeline and photos. This volume focuses on Harriet Tubman's brave heroism as part of the movement to abolish slavery. As one of the key players in the Underground Railroad, she helped enslaved African Americans escape and find freedom.
I found the text to be engaging and interesting, and not at all condescending. The artwork was a bit dark for my tastes but it's not so dark that it interfered with the story. There are nice little touches on the details, and it helped the text flow. It's informative without being wordy though it's definitely not for toddlers or younger. The text is light on personal details and heavy on her accomplishments. Nevertheless, I learned as I read and that made me happy. There's a timeline of major events in her life at the back and a small bibliography of books that Meltzer that used for pursuing a deeper understanding of Ms. Tubman. I really liked how he handled the topic of slavery; I thought he was respectful and honest. He didn't sugarcoat it but neither was he graphic. For instance, there are references to beatings and whippings, we see a whip, but we don't see the whippings, though there are some depictions of violence. If I were still teaching and I was teaching pre-K or older, I'd have the book in my classroom. For children kindergarten age on up to maybe 8 years, depending on the child.I would love to read more in the series.
Oh this sounds like a good one. We did our unit on Black History in February and - if I'm remembering correctly - Harriet Tubman was one I struggled to find a good book for. I'll have to put this title on my classroom wish list! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely check it out and dee if it's worth including.
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