Schroeder- MINTY: A STORY OF A YOUNG HARRIET TUBMAN

Schroeder, Alan. 1996. MINTY A STORY OF YOUNG HARRIET TUBMAN. Illus. Pinkney, Jerry. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-8037-1888-8
Summary
Minty was the nickname given to a young Harriet Tubman, a spirited young girl that was born a slave in the 1820. Minty dreamed that one day she would run away and be free. Minty’s clumsiness and her desire to be free caused her to have many problems on the plantation. Minty’s mother, Old Rit would tell her to get along and not make trouble for fear she would be sent “downriver.” Old Ben, Minty’s father saw his child’s stubbornness and determination in her eyes and he knew he had to teach her about the night. Old Ben knew Minty would escape one day or die trying. Her father took her out that night and began his lessons by showing her the North Star and the stars next to it known to the slaves as the “Drinking Gourd”. He taught her how to swim, skin a squirrel and run in the woods without making a sound. Minty learned from her father what she would need to know and understand if she was to make it to Philadelphia- freedom. As the story ends we are left wondering if Minty ever made it off the plantation.
The author’s note allows the reader to learn more about Minty, later known as Harriet Tubman. It finished the story for young readers who will want to know if she ran away. The information begins with the time that Minty made her escape to the development of the Underground Railroad. The stubbornness and determination as well as the bravery Minty showed in the book served her well into her adult life. Harriet Tubman returned many times to help free other slaves through what was eventually called the “Underground Railroad.”
Analysis
Schroeder’s text allows the reader a better understanding through the use of many cultural markers that connect the story to the African American culture during the 1800’s. The story begins with a little African American child hiding from a woman who is yelling for her to “get in here!” The reader is given a hint at the beginning of little girl known as “Minty” strong will as she hides and sticks her tongue out when she is called and thinks to herself “ I’ll come when I am good and ready”, knowing if caught she would be for a whippin’. Minty is a house slave that is moved to the fields due to her clumsiness. The story continues to tell the painful life of a slave that does not follow the rules. It is heart wrenching to hear the words “Whip her good” and how the ‘overseer roughly rips her shirt and raises the whip.” Minty’s family loved and worried for all their family but it was Minty’s spirit that gave them the most concern. It was this concern that had her mother telling her about the consequences of her behavior by saying “If your head is in the lion’s mouth, it’s best to pat him a little. Your head’s in his mouth, Minty, but you sure ain’t doin’ any pattin’. You’re just fixin’ to get your head bit off.” Minty would always say “I’m gonna run away.” It was then that her father told her “if you’re gonna run go at night.” Her father teaching her what she would need to know. He would point out the “North Star”, the “Big Dipper” and explain what is historically known as “The Drinking Gourd”. Old Ben taught Minty to “read a tree” and to know that moss “always grows on the north side of a tree.” Follow the star and go north to Philadelphia father would tell Minty so that when she did run away she had a chance of making it to freedom.
Award winning illustrator, Jerry Pinkney researched plantations around Maryland as well as details about the background, dress, food and the living conditions before creating the illustrations to Schroeder’s words. His commitment to authenticity is evident in this book. Pinkney’s remarkable pencil, colored pencil and watercolor illustrations conveyed the feelings of the character in an almost haunting way. It was the facial features and the eyes that conveyed the real emotions of the characters. In Pinkney’s illustration of the “missus” and the “overseer” he captured the anger and hatred of the characters for the young slave girl. He was able to show the hope in a little girl’s eyes as she is holding her rag doll or being a sunflower in the field or the sadness of a child that has just been whipped, back to the love that shines in the eyes of Minty when she realizes her father accepts and loves her so much that he teaches her how to survive in the woods on her own.
Pinkney’s illustrations capture the Brodas plantation in Maryland in the early 1800’s.He presents the white owner’s home as a large and beautifully furnished in contrast to the shack like homes of the slaves which would be historically accurate for the time. He continues to show the authenticity of the times in the setting of this story with the illustrations showing the slaves working in the fields as the overseer on horseback watches with a keen eye. . The historical content of this book is told in such a sensitive yet authentic way through both words and pictures. The story of a young Harriet Tubman could be one of sadness but the message of hope and family shine through the words and the pictures.
Schroeder is telling the story through his words but at the same time Pinkney is telling a more emotional story through illustrations that seem to convey all the emotions that the words could not.

Rewards and Reviews
Book Links (A.L.A.) 02/01/02 Publishers Weekly 11/06/00
Coretta Scott King Award/Honor 01/01/97 Publishers Weekly starred 05/20/96
Horn Book starred 09/01/96 School Library Journal 05/01/96
Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/97
Publishers Weekly
This fictionalized account of Tubman's childhood on a Maryland plantation provides a cruel snapshot of life as a slave and the horrid circumstances that fueled the future Underground Railroad leader's passion and determination. At eight years old, Minty (so-called as a nickname for Araminta) boils with rebellion against her brutal owners and bucks their authority whenever possible. Deeming her too...
"Rich with melodrama, suspense, pathos, and a powerful vision of freedom. This exquisitely crafted book resonates well beyond its few pages." -Kirkus Reviews, pointer review

Pinkney is the only illustrator to have won the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration four times, and he has received an impressive four Caldecott Honor Medals. His books include "Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman" (1997), "Mirandy and Brother Wind" (1989), and "The Patchwork Quilt" (1986). He lives in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. ( Book Links (A.L.A.) 02/01/02

Connections:
As a first grade teacher this book allows me to go in many different directions and areas of the curriculum. The first thinking is to use the book Minty, a story of a young Harriet Tubman as a bridge into a greater variety of nonfiction books I would use this book as a springboard to research Harriet Tubman’s life further.
Spotlight on an Illustrator -
This book is a great way to introduce an award winning illustrator to students. Have an area devoted to an illustrator and /or author a month. Having the collections change every 2-3 weeks.
There are many websites that have booklists of Jerry Pinkney illustrated books.
Partial booklist of Jerry Pinkney Books:
The Patchwork Quilt (written by Valerie Flournoy)
The Tales of Uncle Remus (written by Julius Lester)
MIrandy and Brother Wind (written by Patricia McKissack)
Back Home (written by Gloria Jean Pinkney)
The Sunday Outing (written by Gloria Jean Pinkney)

Other Activities:
The Drinking Gourd is a book and a song that primary students would enjoy while learning the history of African American Slaves.
The following website for Follow the Drinking Gourd Song (The Drinking Gourd, otherwise known as the Big Dipper, helped to lead slaves to Canada. Once in Canada, slaves gained their freedom and were no longer an object owned by a master. )
• http://www.teachervision.fen.com/music/activity/9406.html
• Follow the Drinking Gourd Song
Teach students about Harriet Tubman and the song she used to sing while leading slaves to their freedom in Canada.

Additional books on Harriet Tubman:
Humphreville, Frances. Harriet Tubman, Flame of Freedom. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1967.
Levine, Ellen. ..If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad. NY: Scholastic, 1988.
McLoone, Margo. Harriet Tubman: A Photo-Illustrated Biography. Mankato: Bridgestone Press, 1997.
Monjo, FN. The Drinking Gourd. USA: Harper Collins, 1993.
Moore, Kay. ...If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War. NY: Scholastic, 1994.
Petry, Ann. Harriet Tubmen: Conductor on the Underground Railroad. Harper Trophy: 1996.
Ringgold, Faith. Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky. NY: Crown Publishers, 1992.
Taylor, M.W. Black Americans of Achievement Harriet Tubman Antislavery Activist. NY: Chelsea House, 1991.