What an incredible woman!!! Strong, resilient, other directed, and brazen are but a few words to describe the "Moses of the Underground Railway." Harriet Tubman was born, in a shack with a dirt floor, no windows or furniture, she was a lave on a large plantation in Maryland. The sixth of eleven children, she and her family were owned. She vowed no one should own another and spent her life making this belief come true for herself, for others.

Strong willed and wild, beaten often, but never quiting, she fought for what she believed was right. Whipped, she continued to fight for the right to be free. Harriett was born during the time of abolitionists and was fortunate to be assisted by this group when she ran away. When a young girl, she was hit in the head with a strong metal weight. It left her with wound on her forehead that would never heal and forever gave her headaches. She persisted even though this terrible act almost killed her.

Married to John Tubman who was a free man. She dreamed of running away. He would not leave with her, and promised to tell the master of her plans. She left and found the assistance of the Underground Railway. She entered Pennsylvania, a state that banned slavery. Never a selfish woman, she continued to help other slaves gain freedom. Working until she earned enough money to help her mission become a reality. She made approximately 19 trips from the south to the north. It is estimated that she assisted 300 slaves in their dream to be free.

Called a conductor of the Underground Railway, with a bounty on her head, she became more committed to helping others. Tough and resiliant she was a nurse during the Civil War and continued to help the poor and sick after slavery ended. ( )

This is one of my favorite books out of all the ones I have read about influential African Americans in American history. I learned things that I did not already know like how Tubman had a metal weight thrown in her direction and hit her while she was helping another slave avoid punishment.
Harriet Tubman was born in a single-room wooden hut that had no windows or floors and was born to slave parents. Abolitionist papers and rebellion were happening to help progress the movement of making slavery illegal. Two of Tubman's sisters were sold and she ended up having a metal weight thrown at her head causing sleeping issues and headaches for years to come. She married, in 1844, a free man by the name of John Tubman, who would not let her escape to the north, and he died in 1867 but she remarried to a man named Nelson Davis. She escaped to the north with the help of white people who were against slavery, this route was known as the underground railroad. After making it to the north she worked paying jobs and would lead slaves to the north through the underground railroad. She was referred to as General Tubman or Moses for her efforts of leading the enslaved to the north. She establish a home for the sick, poor, of homeless and ended up dying in 1913. ( )

jB

I enjoyed reading this childrens book about Harriet Tubman for several reasons. First, Harriet Tubman’s life is one of strength and courage and a story that every young child deserves the opportunity to hear. I believe that this book brings to life her story in simple and easy to understand way that I believe most age groups would be able to follow and understand through the use of simple and straightforward language. It will also be easy to follow since the details are sequential from birth to death. Second, I felt a sense of power when reading this story. There were many themes throughout the picture book including; family, ethics, slavery, love, and courage. These themes that appear in any work of literature written about Harriet Tubman’s life is what I believe made this book so powerful. Third, some may agree that sentences such as "The slaves worked hard all day, but they weren't paid" or "Harriet saw two of her sisters taken away in chains" is too intense for young readers, but I would have to disagree. It creates an absence in history if we can't write "White slaveowners forced their slaves to work hard all day, but didn't pay them," or "White slave traders put two of Harriet's sisters in chains and took them away." Failing to tell children the truth about history isn't doing them any favors. Finally, I thought the pictures were beautiful and they were a visual representation of what Tubman's life was like. ( )

This book would be helpful in a classroom because it talks about history. It focuses on Harriet Tubman and brings in information about Harriet Tubman's life and how she lived as a slave then later on, her life while working on the Underground Railroad. I found the illustrations to be accurate and found it a great read. I would have this in my classroom when talking about history and slavery. I wish that this book focused more on slavery and how horrible it truly was. Overall, I would have this in my classroom and could incorporate this into many different lessons. ( )