Harriet Tubman: The Road To Freedom

Title: Harriet Tubman: The Road To Freedom
Author: Rae Bains
Publisher: Troll Associates
Copyright: 1982 by Troll Communications
Pages: 46
Ages: 9-12
Genre: Non-Fiction

Summary:
Harriet was born into a loving family. Unfortunately her entire family was slaves. From the time she was able, she was running errands for her Master. She had no time to play. When she was five she was sent to work in the “big house” where she was given things to do, but no one told her how to do them. When she did them wrong, she was punished. When she was six she was sent to live with the Cooks to learn weaving. One day when she was very ill with the measles, Mr. Cook had her go check his traps. Which meant she had to go into freezing cold water. She got very ill after this and was sent back to her family until she was well again. Harriet’s next job was to look after Mrs. Brodas’s baby. Harriet was seven years old and so little that she had to sit down and have the baby placed in her arms. If Harriet or the other slaves ever misbehaved, they would often be whipped. This was to control them. But they could not be controlled. There were slave uprisings every year. And this scared the Master’s.
From the time that Harriet was a child, she often heard stories of slaves who had escaped, and helped others escape. Mrs. Brodas didn’t like Harriet, she thought she was disrespectful and decided to break her. She sent her to a family that worked her day and night and hardly fed her until she was too frail and weak to work anymore. They had broken her body, but not her spirit. They sent her back and she spent a long time recovering. Her siblings tried to raise her spirits by making her laugh. One of their pastimes was to read the Bible. Her favorite story was that of Moses. She believed that her people would be free one day as well.
By the time Harriet was 11, she was able to do the work of a grown man. She heard talk of a man named Nat Turner who led a bloody revolt and wasn’t captured for many months after. She and her family talked of being free. Harriet said to be free they would have to take it, because their Master’s would never give it. Soon, stories began to surface about an underground road the slaves would take to freedom. Harriet thought about the underground railroad all the time.
When Harriet was 15, her life almost ended. After refusing a white man’s orders she was hit in the head and suffered a serious injury. Her Master tried to sell her because she couldn’t work, but no one wanted a slave that couldn’t work. After she was better, she still pretended she was ill so no one would want her. Hearing that her family was to be sold soon, she went to a woman who said that she would help her. Harriet went to her and was able, with her help and the help of many brave others, gain her freedom.
For years Harriet traveled back and forth from the South to free slaves. She was never caught and managed to rescue over 300 men, women and children. She never lost any of her passengers.
At the age of 93, Harriet Tubman passed away and was honored with a military funeral.
Recommendations:
I would recommend this to everyone. Harriet is a true hero and should be honored and known.

Potential Problems:
She had a hard life, and it could bother some people. But I think I would have it in my classroom anyway because it’s the truth and a wonderful thing that she did.

My Reaction:
Love it! I didn’t know all of that about Harriet Tubman. I knew she had helped people escape slavery, but I had no idea about her life before that. It was a real eye opener.