Pros: A great first book to introduce the subject of slavery to children.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: This is a fantastic book for children. It tells the story of the Underground Railroad without being preachy and makes a good gift for your child or someone else's.
hadassahchana's Full Review: Jeanette Winter - Follow the Drinking Gourd
One of the things I love most about homeschooling my boys, aka The Four Horsemen, is having the flexibility to get up in the morning, decide to have a field trip and then go. One of the things I love about living in southwest Ontario is the number of interesting historical places to visit. Therefore, when I first found a copy of Follow The Drinking Gourd by Jeannette Winter, I saw the perfect opportunity to combine both loves.
Ever since my eldest was very young I've shown him all of the local exhibits about the Underground Railroad. Windsor is considered the unofficial last stop on that railroad and there are various places in the city and outside in the county which are significant in the history of the anti-slavery movement. My chiropractor is part of a large family whose great-great-great grandfather crossed the Detroit river to freedom and subsequently built a home in Essex county. The home has been turned into a museum - the John Freeman Walls House. 'Freeman' was the name taken by John Walls after he arrived safely in Canada, and his home was a haven and starting-over place for many former slaves. The bookstore in the museum is where I bought our first copy of Follow The Drinking Gourd.
This is a sweetly told story about a one-legged man by the name of Peg Leg Joe. Peg Leg Joe was hired by various plantation owners, and everywhere he went he taught the slaves a song:
"When the sun comes back, and the first quail calls,
Follow the drinking gourd.
For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom,
If you follow the drinking gourd"
The Drinking Gourd was another name for the Big Dipper, and a way for slaves to locate and follow the North Star. Setting the map to music was a way to secretly pass along the information needed to make that long journey to the North and to safety. After all, what slave owner bothered to listen to his slaves as they sang to one another?
The book follows one family's journey north to freedom. They face terrible danger, they go hungry, they are chased by men as well as dogs. Sleeping by day and traveling at night, Molly, James and their family sing the song to guide them to the series of safe houses in the North. The book details the dangers posed to the weary travelers but also shows various acts of kindness shown them by people along the way.
In addition to the story of the fleeing family, this book includes the words and music to the drinking gourd song. This is a nice touch for those who'd like to teach children the original song. It also shows an actual drinking gourd and how to carve out a gourd in order make make a real drinking gourd. Each of my boys enjoyed growing and then carving out his own drinking gourd.
The author is also the illustrator, and the pictures in this book are really beautiful. They look like folk art and are very one-dimensional. However, they perfectly illustrate the text, and I think that the art is as important as the words in conveying the emotions of the story. Each page contains a colourful illustration and one or two short paragraphs, perfect for holding a child's attention while the story is being read. The format also makes this a very good book for early readers to read to themselves.
My boys all loved this book and asked for it over and over. We wore out two copies and gave several others as gifts. One of my children, #3, was a bit scared by some of the situations - he would cry when he saw the picture of the dogs hunting for the slaves. However, he is a tender-hearted little person and I haven't heard of other children being frightened by either the pictures or the subject matter itself. My other children actually liked that page. It reminded them of one of the displays at the John Freeman Walls House - the current generation have built a "freedom route" through a dense woodland on the property. It is hard to walk through the trees and vines, and halfway through the trail there are recordings of dogs baying and men shouting with gunshots heard in the distance. The display was designed to show visitors how terrifying it must have been for those men, women and children who actually faced such horrors. Whenever we visited, the end of the trail was always marked by a Walls descendant standing nearby to give hugs and wipe tears from children who became frightened. A good lesson, I believe, and one which the book teaches very well.
This review is part of the Fight Illiteracy write off, in which many Epinions members have agreed to review a children's book and then donate it to the Mississippi Council for the Humanities, who operate the largest literacy program in the state of Mississippi. I hope you'll consider joining dramastef and me in sending books to this worthwhile cause.
Illus. in full color. Winter s story begins with a peg-leg sailor who aids slaves on their escape on the Underground Railroad. While working for plant...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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