Thursday, January 4, 2007
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
A fictionalized account of Harriet Tubman's real and spiritual journey North to freedom. Weatherford's prose flows like poetry. A foreword offers background information on slavery and the author's note at the end gives factual information about Tubman's life. Nelson's illustrations vary from hazy silhouettes to detailed scenes in a way that gracefully enhances the text. NCSOS tie-ins are at Second, Third and Eighth Grade Social Studies. There's enough sub-text here for it to be appropriate at all those grade levels, and even through high school. SLJ starred review.
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3 comments:
This is a remarkable book and it’s not surprising that it was recognized by both Coretta Scott King and Caldecott. Kadir Nelson is a very talented artist and here is a text with an emotional resonance that he absolutely captures with light and dark particularly of the sun, moon, and stars. Schools that might shy away from the overt religious nature of this book – God talks! owe this book a second and third look. God speaks but it is in an owl’s screech, a babbly brook, or a mosquito’s buzz. This beauty and comfort of the natural world speaks through the illustrations as well. The deeply felt faith and hope exemplified in African American spirituals is skillfully woven through the words of the text: “Wade in the Water,” and “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.” Drawing on the words of those spirituals and others, the author has written an American symphony. One of our teachers proposed a reader’s theater based on the book and I could really see and hear this as a performance especially with the music.
I was present when the Notables Committee discussed this. They were most appreciative of how the illustrations played off of the text and enriched it in a new and important way to further the story. One person was "uncomfortable" with the aspect of talking to God as Harriet does. No other negative comments, only praise.
A beautifully illustrated story. My students, second graders through fourth graders, were spellbound. It was a pleasure to read aloud.
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