As a biography selection, I read Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman by Monica Kulling. This selection highlights black women in a positive, brave way through Tubman’s story. The story is geared towards second and third graders, so it does not delve deeply into issues of slavery. It is pretty superficial in that sense and portrays southern whites as aggressive, violent slave owners.
I think this story has a strong balance between facts and a story line. It is a short story but divided into chapters. The opening chapter grabs the reader’s attention and then introduces facts. It tells interesting facts about Harriet’s personal and family life that allow readers to relate to her.
The book is published by a respectable publisher, Random House, and the author thanks Alice Adamczyk from the Schomburg Center for Research in Back Culture for her “time and expertise in reviewing this book”. Other than those facts, sources and credibility were not mentioned.
I think this is worthy of students reading. Harriet Tubman is wonderful example of a strong, black, female leader and she played a large part in our history. I was surprised by the variety of people to read about in the children’s biography section; anyone from Michael Jordan to Osama Bin Laden. I think Harriet Tubman is a positive and age appropriate selection.
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