Pros: true to history account of Harriet Tubman's quest to free her fellow slaves
Cons: some disturbing events and images
The Bottom Line: A well-told easy to understand account of slavery. We see it all through the life of Harriet Tubman, a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
jiastar's Full Review: Dorothy Sterling - Freedom Train: The Story of Har...
The story opens in 1827 in Maryland, and we meet Harriet. Her days' tasks found her up before the sun to light the fires, to clean and to tend the baby so the Master's wife could breakfast in peace then cooking and housekeeping, and when night finally came it was spent sitting beside the wee babe so that he might not cry and wake his mother. Meals consisted of corncakes and salt pork, meaning she was forever hungry and always malnourished. Sounds like a hard life or any person, but Harriet was not considered a person ... she is not yet 8 years old and is a slave.
A final act of defiance, in trying to snitch a sugar cube, finds her paying with a whipping and being sent from the housework where she knew relative comfort to work, from that time forward, in the fields where she will know hard labor from sun-up to sun-down in all kinds of weather.
Despite being told from infancy to "smile at the white folk" Harriet just can't. She even finds ways to defy the overseers, who not trusting a silent slave often tell them to sing as they work, by singing spirituals which speak of freedom.
At the age of 15 she learns of the "Underground Railroad", assisted by good people from all walks of life and guided by the North Star above slaves made their way to freedom. The slave who tells her of this means of escape, Jim, has run away a number of times previously but never made his way to the North. When he tries again, Harriet acts to block the overseer's pursuit and pays with a 2 lb. weight to the head. An injury which stays with her for the rest of her life, causing episodes of narcolepsy.
Disgusted with her, but unable to sell her, her Master gives her a chance. She must pay him $1 a week, rain or shine, but she can hire her own time. Whatever she can manage to save over and above her payment to him is hers alone. It takes many months to save up $20 and to gather the courage to ask how much it will cost to buy her freedom, only to get the answer $500 -- a seemingly impossible task. Still not giving up hope Harriet works even harder, working almost non-stop 6 days a week, and it is during this time that she meets John Tubman - a free black man.
Despite their marriage and their love things quickly became unsatisfying. John, himself being free-born, didn't understand his wife's desire to be free nor did he share her hatred of slavery. Additionally, his not working and his tendency toward "extravagance" caused Harriet's savings (and only hope of freedom) to dwindle.
Finally spurred by her Master's death and the fear of being sold she runs away ... and in 1849 she crosses over into the North and tries to make a new life in Philadelphia.
One would think that her quest would end here, but it does not. Harriet is not satisfied to be free herself; she wants to help others out of the hell of slavery and thus begins her journey as a conductor on the Underground Railroad which brought HER to freedom. Even though the moment her feet cross the line into the South she is once again, by law, a slave.
The remainder of the books takes us with Harriet Tubman as she travels back and forth risking, quite literally, life and limb to rescue not only her family members but other slaves as well (thought to be approximately 300 persons). First moving them to the North and, when laws change making even the North no longer a haven, into Canada. We see the Civil War unfold through her eyes and are with her in 1913, when pneumonia causes her to draw her last breath at the age of, roughly, 93.
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Told in 180 pages, over 20 chapters, this is both a heavily detailed book and a quick and easy read. So much happens over the course of the story to Harriet, and to those around her. So much happens in the course of history.
Written in 1954 by Dorothy Sterling here is a clear account of slavery and the long battle toward its abolishment. We see the ugliness of slavery, the hard work, the beatings, the hunger, and the emotional pain. We see how there were people who were willing to risk everything to abolish this hateful practice. We see the harrowing process of escape.
What I especially like about this title is that it does not fall victim to talking down to children, nor does it whitewash history. Not only does she paint slavery complete with whippings and blistering work but she shows how crossing into the North did not mean an easy life.
What I also enjoyed was Ms. Sterling's ability to paint pictures with her words so that you could see the woods being trudged through, you could see the stars shining above.
However, the book does deal with some troubling events and more sensitive youngsters may be unduly upset. It is one of those books that I definitely feel should be read first by a parent/guardian and then passed over to the child.
All that being said, this book is a must read for those in late grammar school. It is an accurate account of the life of Harriet Tubman, a woman who herself aided in the escape of hundreds of slaves. It is an age-appropriate portrayal of the evils of slavery. It is a story of courage, of how it is important, even if it cost you everything, to fight for what is right.
Born into slavery, young Harriet Tubman knew only hard work and hunger. Escape seemed impossible--certainly dangerous. Yet Harriet did escape North, b...More at HotBookSale
Born into slavery, young Harriet Tubman knew only hard work and hunger. Escape seemed impossible--certainly dangerous. Yet Harriet did escape North, b...More at HotBookSale
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