When Harriet Met Sojourner (edition 2007)

This book is a true story about to women who were born slaves but died free and hero’s to many. The book narrates the lives of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Both women were born slaves but found their own ways to gain freedom. Truth went on to become an advocate for the rights of blacks and women. Tubman fled slavery and returned to the south many times to help other slaves make it to freedom. After the civil war Truth and Tubman met, because there were no notes about their meeting the writers of the book could only spectate on their meeting.

This is a great book about strong African Americans in history. This gives a positive message to black children and educates children of different races about history. This would be a great book to introduce a unit on the civil war.

1.) Use this book to introduce a unit on slavery or the civil war.

2.) Have an open discussion about slavery.

Summary: This is a biography about two African American women who grew up in slavery. Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth both had a heart of courage and strength empowering them to fight for their freedom. After witnessing the evils of slavery, they dedicated their lives to help others receive their freedom also. Harriet Tubman was part of the underground railroad, and Sojourner Truth was a strong and tall speaker who preached and lectured about the rights of an African American. After meeting, they aren't sure if they would see each other ever again, but deep in their hearts they knew that they would never forget each other.

Personal Reaction: I really like this story and think it is great for children. I personally love biographies and this story was written so that a young student would be able to easily understand.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
A. This story can be told during a time when the teacher is explaining about slavery and how it was abolished.
B. This can also be told when the teacher is explaining some main people who were against slavery and helped abolish it. ( )

Summary: This book is about when Harriet Tubman met Sojourner. This book also tells about how they made their way to freedom from slavery. It is basically the story of Harriet Tubman.

Personal Reaction: I liked this story and thought it was really neat. It really taught me more about Harriet Tubman that I did not know.

Classroom Extension: I would use this book for Black History Month, so that kids can learn about all the things that happened. You could also use this as a history lesson about Harriet Tubman.

Summary: A story on how Harriet Tubman met Sojourner Truth. It talks about their lives as slaves and how they became free.

Refection: This was a very good story for a history lesson.

Classroom Extension:
1. Use as history lesson when you are teaching slavery.
2. Have a discussion on how your kids feel about slavery.

I really enjoyed the full (left) page illustrations matched up with the accompanying text on the right side of the right page. By only taking the right third with text it allowed the pictures to stretch across the majority of the the book. The illustrations did have a sad feeling drawn into them obviously because of the topic but the illustrator's somber drawings move into pleasant ones as the women find freedom and each other. The colors and facial expressions progressively become more positive as the story goes along. ( )