Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman Review

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman [1996, Dial Books for Young Readers, ISBN: 0-8037-1888-8], by Alan Schroeder and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, is a 40-page children's fictional account of Harriet Tubman when she was 8 years old that is based on some factual information.

The Story:

Harriet Tubman is particularly fond of being a slave on the Brodas plantation, and the owner of the plantation seems to sense that. After Minty (from her "cradle" name of Araminta) spills cider on the table, she is punished by having to watch her beloved doll burn to ashes. She is then sent to be a field slave, and her parents warn Minty that she needs to "pat the lion" a before she "gets her head bit off" and sent down South.

Minty seems to enjoy the outdoors more, but the work is hard in the fields. When she is sent to tend some muskrat traps, she decides to set them free, only to discover that she is being watched so she tries to run and eventually is beaten badly. Her determination to run away only strengthens, and her father decides to teach her how to survive on her own in preparation for that day.

The illustrations are quite impressive, and the note at the beginning of the book mentiones that the illustrator also created the U.S.P.S.'s first Harriet Tubman commemorative stamp.

My Viewpoint:

I think that both the author and illustrator probably put a good deal of time into research for Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman in an effort to make it realistic and close to the truth. I want my kids to learn about important people in history who made a lasting impression on how we see the world today. My 8-year-old particularly liked this book and has asked for me to read it and has read it herself several times. Some parts of this book are a bit graphic and may be disturbing to children, but I think that slavery itself is a bit disturbing.