Customer Reviews

The Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad (I Can Read Books)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This tale of the underground railroad told from the perspective of young, mischievious Tommy Fuller, blends history with a compelling adventure story. Tommy discovers a runaway slave family hiding in his father's barn. Little Jeff is Tommy's age but has had a very different life as a Southern child of slavery. The adventure is how Tommy and his father, Deacon Fuller, help this family escape to Canada and freedom. Includes a simple discussion between Tommy and his father about the fact that they have broken a law and that sometimes laws cannot be obeyed.

This book is beautifully written, and it made a big impression on me as a child for why it's important to be involved in the important things in life. It also impressed upon me that social and justice issues aren't about the grandness of arguments--they're about the lives of people who are at the center of debates (although I certainly wouldn't have articulated it at the time).

I like it so much that I bought it now even though I don't have any kids because I want my future children to be able to experience it. These are the kinds of books that help children to have a broad view of the world.

This book is about a boy named Tommy which does very funny things. He saves black men from becoming slaves. I enjoyed reading this book because it was very exciting and it taught me about the underground railroad and slaves. By James -age 8

You can make history into a fun topic for kids if you use the right book. "The Drinking Gourd" really pulls the reader into the story because the protagonist, like the reader, is just a kid! It's a first-person account of the Underground Railroad, seen through the eyes of a ten-year-old. The average kid isn't terribly interested in the adventures of a 40-year-old, and there's no shortage of books about the adults who built this country. But there are few national heroes that were kids. So why not just insert a kid into the story?

I read this book in the 1980's, when I was in 3rd grade. I loved it, not because I cared about the history, but because the hero of the book does what a kid my age would do. I didn't feel envious of him, because he doesn't do anything I wouldn't get to do. He's also not savvy; he learns about the Underground Railroad from a young slave who says "shucks, you don't know anything."

There are many books like these, where a child protagonist is inserted into a story about the Mayflower, the American Revolution, The Civil War, Westward Expansion, The Gold Rush, The Depression, Etc.

While studying Black History Month this book is amazing with the rich illustrations and the historical facts. The children loved when I read it to them.

This book is about slaves that are hiding in a barn. Tommy came home from church , and he fed the horses He heard a noise in the barn and went to see what it was. A man named Jeff popped out of the hay, and Tommy fell off the top of the barn. He fell in the hay.Jeff and his family came out of the barn, and Jeff had an axe and waved it in the air. Jeff's wife said that Tommy was just a little boy. (Chance)

Tommy found three people and the people talk to him and his dad came in the barn. They talk to them and they said we ran away from the slave owners. They took them to the underground railroad. (Shawn)

I liked this book. It was one of my favorite books. It was a good thing they hid in the hay. They had to go to the under ground railroad. The under ground is a secret group of people who believe slavery is wicked. We need to obey all laws this book is a bout history.