Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman

Schroeder, Alan, and Jerry Pinkney. Minty: a story of young Harriet Tubman. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1996. ISBN 0-8037-1888-8

Plot Summary:

Minty tells the story of an eight-year-old Harriet Tubman. Even as a young girl, Minty knew she wanted to escape the trap of slavery, and nothing would stop her. Friends on the plantation teach her how to swim, read the stars and the trees, and to survive in the wilderness. When Minty finally has the chance to escape, she gets scared and doesn’t succeed. Information about Minty’s later life, including her eventual escape, is included in an author’s note at the end of the book.

Critical Analysis:

Minty, written by Alan Schroeder and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, is a beautifully illustrated children’s biography about Harriet Tubman as a young girl. The book takes place on a Maryland plantation in the 1820’s. While the book is a fictional adaptation of part of Harriet’s life, the story is believable and culturally accurate. The setting, clothing, language, and other cultural markers are consistent to the time period and culture. The relationship between the slaves and their masters is depicted well in the words and illustrations. Minty’s innocent and hopeful point of view is clearly depicted in the words and illustrations. The harshness of Minty’s life is not down-played in any way throughout the story, and the book painfully shows the reader just how cruel it would have been to work as a slave during Harriet’s time.

The book’s illustrations, created using watercolor and colored pencils, are honest, soft, and bursting with emotion. The pictures, including the clothing, hairstyles, and setting are culturally accurate. The author’s note at the end of the book gives the reader information about Harriet Tubman’s adult life and eventual escape. Through Schroeder’s honest words and Pinkney’s authentic illustrations, teachers and librarians are sure to find a great book depicting the first parts of Harriet Tubman’s life as a slave.

Awards and Reviews:

Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for PreK-Grade 6, 12th Edition, 1999 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States

American Booksellers Pick of the Lists, Spring, 1996 ; American Booksellers Association; United States

Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States

Children's Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006 ; H.W. Wilson; United States

Children's Literature Choice List, 1997 ; Children's Literature; United States

Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Third Edition, 2001 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States

Kirkus Book Review Stars, 1996 ; United States

Los Angeles' 100 Best Books, 1996 ; IRA Children's Literature and Reading SIG and the Los Angeles Unified School District; United States

Notable Children's Books, 1997 ; ALSC American Library Association; United States

Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, May 1996 ; Cahners; United States

Recommended Literature: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve, 2002 ; California Department of Education; California

Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association, 1997 ; Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association; United States

Teachers' Choices, 1997 ; International Reading Association; United States

Booklist:

Set on the Maryland plantation where Harriet Tubman ("Minty" ) was raised a slave, this fictionalized story dramatizes what daily life was like for her as a child. Schroeder's words are clear and strong. There's no gracious big house here, no happy slave. The angry Missus sends the "difficult" slave child Minty to work in the fields. When the overseer orders her to check the muskrat traps, she sets the animals free and is whipped for it. Pinkney's realistic portraits are powerful, and, as in John Henry (1994), the dappled double-page landscapes connect the strong child hero with the might of the natural world. Her mother tells her to "pat the lion," but her father knows she means to run away, and several idyllic paintings show him teaching her to read the night sky and swim in the river and survive in the woods. The blend of fact and fiction is occasionally problematic (was she really planning escape at eight years old, or was that age chosen to suit the picture-book audience?), but kids will be moved by the picture of secret childhood rebellion in someone who grew up to lead hundreds to freedom.

Kirkus:

A fictional extrapolation of a few facts about Harriet Tubman's childhood--her unruliness, her punishments, and her plans for escape from slavery. "Minty" is a small, high-spirited child, cherishing a few moments away from the mistress, Mrs. Brodas, who burns Minty's doll when the girl doesn't come when she's called. From that day, Minty becomes a field slave and begins to acquire the information she needs from others for her future journey. Schroeder (Carolina Shout!, 1995, etc.) is a miniaturist, creating a narrative of handpicked details (Minty's doll with cracked buttons for her eyes) and inspired episodes (Minty's father teaching her to follow the North Star). Told in rhythmic prose and colloquial dialogue, the plot has actual events that are small, but it is rich with melodrama, suspense, pathos, and, of course, a powerful vision of freedom. Pinkney's illustrations exhibit, characteristically, his refined draftsmanship; the complicated compositions convey psychological aspects of slavery and make the individual characters even more distinct. This exquisitely crafted book resonates well beyond its few pages.

Connections:

Teachers and librarians can use this book in a study pertaining to slavery, biographies, or the early 1800’s. Art teachers may use this book to depict the honesty that can be portrayed by using colored pencils and watercolors together.

Check out the following titles about Harriet Tubman for young children…

Allen, Thomas B., and Carla Bauer. Harriet Tubman, secret agent: how daring slaves and free Blacks spied for the Union during the Civil War. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2006.

Bauer, Marion Dane, and Tammie Lyon. Harriet Tubman. New York: Scholastic, 2010.

Petry, Ann. Harriet Tubman, conductor on the Underground Railroad. New York: Crowell, 1955.

Weatherford, Carole Boston, and Kadir Nelson. Moses: when Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2006.