Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride - Hardcover

Pinkney, Andrea

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786807679 ISBN 13: 9780786807673

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009

Synopsis

Born into slavery, Belle had to endure the cruelty of several masters before she escaped to freedom. But she knew she wouldn't really be free unless she was helping to end injustice. That's when she changed her name to Sojourner and began traveling across the country, demanding equal rights for black people and for women. Many people weren't ready for her message, but Sojourner was brave, and her truth was powerful. And slowly, but surely as Sojourner's step-stomp stride, America began to change.

About this title

About the Author

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney have collaborated on several award-winning picture books, including Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra and Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa. They live in Brooklyn, New York.



Brian Pinkney is the illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including the Caldecott Honor Books Duke Ellington and The Faithful Friend, and the Coretta Scott King Award winner In the Time of the Drums.

Reviews

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 3—A dynamic portrait of the freed slave whose physical and spiritual strength made her one of America's most powerful abolitionist voices. Andrea Pinkney explains how slave owners saw the robust Belle Baumfree as a profitable asset and sold her away from her parents at age nine. This episode deftly introduces modern children to the "ugly way" of slavery, yet does not frighten them with its chilling details. The author goes on to describe how the very strength that slave owners prized was the free Sojourner Truth's most valuable weapon against the institution. For example, the adult Sojourner Truth did not merely walk away from slavery: "She covered some ground, child. She got gone. She refused to stop until she saw hope." Then her strength allowed her to "travel up and down the land" to advocate freedom. The narrative speaks directly to children in such passages, and the conversational style makes this book an excellent choice for reading aloud. Brian Pinkney's vivid illustrations brilliantly reinforce his wife's lively words. Bold yellows and oranges are his dominant hues, and these colors express hope and optimism throughout. His broad, energetic strokes also echo the title and Sojourner Truth's robust "step-stomp stride." While some of Sojourner Truth's feelings may be imagined, Pinkney demonstrates the depth of her research with a "More about Sojourner Truth" feature. An essential purchase for all libraries.—Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY
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“Down came Sojourner’s hand. An iron fist, smashing the lies of the day.” The words in this rousing fictional biography express the fiery spirit of Sojourner Truth, who escaped from slavery and became a leading abolitionist and feminist. Both text and images show the cruelty she experienced in the South, when she was sold away from her parents. After fleeing north, she found work as a maid and began to draw crowds with her speeches: “When she preached, she let the words fly.” The story reaches its dramatic peak in scenes of a women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio, in 1851, when Truth delivered her famous “And ain’t I a woman?” speech in response to men’s claims that women are too weak to deserve equal rights. The storyteller’s colloquial narration and full-page scenes of Truth, rendered in swirling, energetic lines, make this a great read-aloud choice for young children, who will want to move from the fictional story to the appended biographical notes, which include a bibliography and archival portraits, including one with President Lincoln. Grades K-3. --Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786807679
• ISBN 13: 9780786807673
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Pinkney Brian
• Number of pages: 32