Margo McLoone

The best part of this little almanac is the Computer section -- which goes up to 1985! It's just super cute, especially considering where we are today with computers.

Adrianne

Summary:
This book is a biography of a very strong woman who fought for civil rights and freedom from slavery. Sojourner Truth was originally born a slave child named Isabella. She had many brothers and sisters along with her parents, but was sold at the age of nine and never saw them again. Once she was old enough her owner married her to another slave, and they had 5 children the owner then made into slaves. In 1817 slavery in New York became illegal and ran away from her farm when the show more owner would not free her. Her previous owner sold her son to a slave owner in Alabama which was illegal so she filed a lawsuit for his freedom, and when she won she became the first African American woman to win a lawsuit. After some differences with her home church she decided to change her name and travel spreading the word of her God and spoke against slavery. She also published a biography in her fifties and lived to be eighty four.

Personal reaction:
I loved this book and how plainly it gives information to the reader. Another great thing about this book is that it explains bigger words it uses and also has a glossary in the back. This book would also be good for informational text. The book also gives a lot of detailed information about her life, but not in an overwhelming way.

Classroom Extensions:
1. I would put this book into our read aloud while studying slavery during our history.
2. I would use the book to have the students do a readers theater about her speeches against slavery.
3. I would after our class reading have the students write a journal prompt on if they thought slavery was good or bad. show less

I would like to think that this book is "historically accurate" but it is complete garbage.
The history is whitewashed. Examples of that -- the answer for when pencils were invented was "slightly before the birth of Christ" ... Oo really? That's your historically accurate answer? That's not a date or a year. Anyone not from America is referred to as "indigenous savages".

The book/text is disgusting.

Adrianne

This is a wonderful biography about the life and tribulations of Harriet Tubman. It talks about how she escaped from her abusive owners when she was young. And how she later returned to help free her family and others. She was a very brave woman who earned many peoples respect and love.

I read this book to my third grade class and they loved it. The class thought that it was very harsh the way that Harriet was treated and beaten. But they all wanted to read it themselves when I was finished show more because they found it so interesting.

This would be a good book choice to have the children write an autobiography of themselves in the way that they portray their own lives. show less