BIBLOGRAPHY
Schroeder, Alan and Pinkney, Jerry. 1996. MINTY: A STORY OF YOUNG HARRIET TUBMAN. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0-8037-1889-6
PLOT SUMMARY
Minty, AKA Araminta or Harriet, was living on the Brodas plantation in Maryland. She does not like her life as a slave and is sent from working in the house to the fields. She sets some animals free from their traps just as she wishes she was free. For this she is whipped and is then even more determined to run away. Her father, Old Ben, teaches her some skills in case she does decide to run away. She learns how to swim, catch food and “read” the forest. He also shows her the North Star and the “Drinking Gourd” to follow to freedom. The book ends with her crying herself to sleep and dreaming of freedom. The Author’s Note at the end the of book tells the factual story of Harriet Tubman’s adult life.
The language and clothing portrayed seem to fit the time period and ethnicity of the characters. The slaves did not speak proper English and were pictured in work clothing.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Even though the book was fictional as little is know of Harriet’s early life it still inspired the reader as to the strong will of such a young child to know that life was not right and there was a better place somewhere else. The illustrations support the text and add the vision one may need as reading through the story. When you finish reading the story you almost wish it were nonfiction so you could have a glimpse into her life as a young child. The book does show that it didn't matter to the slave owners how old the slaves were when they were punished. Minty is whipped as a young child. This is a fictional account but we do not know if the event really happened. This shows the disregard that the owners had for the slaves and some of them truely treated them as property and not people.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Coretta Scott King Award Winner
ALA Notable Book
An American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists"A Time Magazine Best Children's Book of the YearWinner of the Christopher AwardAn IRA/CBC Children's Choice
Publisher’s Weekly “This fictionalized account of Tubman's childhood on a Maryland plantation provides a cruel snapshot of life as a slave and the horrid circumstances that fueled the future Underground Railroad leader's passion and determination.”
Children’s Literature “Schroeder gives a slice of Tubman's early life that reflects her spirited desire for freedom and the obstacles she faced in its attainment.”
School Library Journal “This is a dramatic story that will hold listeners' interest and may lead them to biographical material.”
Kirkus Reviews “Told in rhythmic prose and colloquial dialogue, the plot has actual events that are small, but it is rich with melodrama, suspense, pathos, and, of course, a powerful vision of freedom.”
CONNECTIONS
This would be an excellent book to introduce slavery, the Civil War, the underground railroad and many other topics for this time period. Even though it is fiction I think it gives a good beginning picture for younger students to understand what African Americans went through during this time.
Here are a few other references.
David A. Adler's A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman (Holiday, 1992) ISBN-13: 9780823410651
Ann McGovern's Wanted Dead or Alive: The True Story of Harriet Tubman (Scholastic, 1991) ISBN-13: 9780833562142
Book cover image from Barnes & Noble.
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