Perfect Picture Book Friday/The Story of Harriet Tubman

Hi Friends!

I’m not really back yet! I’m still at the beach! I’ve scheduled this blog post of Harriet Tubman for Perfect Picture Book Friday to go up last Saturday morning to go live today while I drive back home. Hopefully I’ll be responding to comments tonight. It depends on how late we get back.  You’ll see me tomorrow reading other PPBF’s I’m sure.

I sure do hope all of you had as nice a summer as I did. You’ll see photos on Tuesday. How many should I put up? Six or ten? It was a busy summer and I took hunderds of photos.  I thought I’d put some up on Face book too. Actually I thought I would have done that by now. Lol. Thought a lot of things would be done by now. 🙂 actually .

Yep! I’m nervous. This is my first post of the summer and I’m not sure who of you will see me now I’m back. But I’m glad I’m back. I can’t wait till I hear about  your summer. 🙂  

Perfect Picture Book Friday/The Story of Harriet Tubman

Title: The Story of Harriet Tubman

Author: Rachel A. Koestler-Grack

Published by: Chelsea Clubhouse Books by Chelsea House Publishers, a subsidiary of Haights Cross Communications, Historical biography, 2004 / www.chelseahouse.com

Themes: Harriet Tubman, 1820?—1913; Juvenile Literature, slaves, United States, African American women, underground railroad, antislavery movements, civil war,

Resources: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/index.htm is a powerhouse of information for the whole abolition movement including but not limited to Harriet Tubman. There are slideshows, printable and activities here. There are curriculum connections for history, language arts and geography.

Look at http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/tubman/ for online digital and web resources.

Google was very forthcoming with many more suggestions.

http://www.theteachersguide.com/BlackHistoryMonth.html for mini courses on everyone associated with the abolition movement from Rosa Parks to Sojourner Truth as well as Harriet Tubman. There are five mini units in all. And there seems to be a complete offering on all the famous African Americans that all students need to know about.

From the jacket: A biography of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery and led others to freedom as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Includes bibliographical references and index.

For ages: grade three through sixth

First three lines: On Christmas Eve, Harriet Tubman hid in an old shed used to store feed for animals. The shed was just outside her parents’ home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a slave state. Harriet was a runaway slave.

Why I love it: As you can see from the first three lines this biography deals with adventure and high risks. Written in an interesting style this book has many photos and sidebars to keep a child interested through the whole book. It gives a thorough view of what slavery was and why it was inhumane. It portrays Harriet as a hero and as a  courageous woman. That she was also an African American and had a handicap makes her even more appealing. In addition to her Underground Railroad conductor duties she became a spy for the Union Army and helped lead raids up South Carolina’s Combahee River destroying railroads and bridges to keep supplies from reaching Confederate camps. After the civil war Harriet continued working for Black rights and she even bought a plot of land that later became the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged. A quote from the book says it all. “Long ago, when the Lord told me to go free my people, do you suppose he wanted me to do this just for a day, or a week? No! [He] meant me to do it just so long as I live.” Harriet Tubman

Her dedication and determination makes her one of my heroes and role models.

PS: As you can guess from the images on this post, I couldn’t find the exact book cover of Harriet Tubman by Rachel A. Koestler-Grack that   I read so I found some others and posted them. Koestler-Grack has written many other biographies and many historical picture books but I couldn’t find this particular book. I also left the numbers of id on the photos so they could be identified back from their sources. If you know any more about the photo controversy of this summer please fill me in so I can correct any problems. In the past I have used Flickr’s common license photos so I will be OK there but if you think I have  not complied with the new rules please tell me and I will greatly appreciate it.I have missed much in these weeks of vacation and I hope to get up to speed soon.

For more links to Perfect Picture Books, a collection of bloggers who contribute at Susanna Leonard Hill’s site, click here.