Review of "Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman," by Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney

 Review of

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman, by Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney ISBN 9780140561968

Five out of five stars

Fictionalized account of Tubman’s childhood

 The authors readily admit in the preface that this account of the childhood of Harriet Tubman is fictionalized, although the basic facts are true. This book only covers her childhood until she was approximately nine years old. Too clumsy to work as a house slave, she was relegated to working the fields on a plantation on the shores of Chesapeake Bay.

 Although some events are fiction, they have the appearance of truth, so it is possible that some are true. Tubman was rebellious as a child, once to the point where she was whipped for disobedience. She was constantly looking for a way to escape to the northern states and freedom. A fellow male slave spent time teaching her how to find her way via the stars and forest signs as well as how to find food while on the trail.

 This is a great story for children, it is educational in the sense that it gives information about the plight of slavery as well as the life of a former slave woman that worked to change the world.