Harriet and the Promised Land [Hardcover]

Jacob Lawrence (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

The well-known African-American artist boldly captures the drama of Harriet Tubman's struggle to free her people from slavery, in a collection of powerful and vivid paintings.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This powerful tribute to the courage of Harriet Tubman provides an ideal introduction to the work of African American artist Lawrence. Tubman's life is dramatically portrayed in stunning artwork, bold with bright blocks of color and informed by a keen sense of symmetry. As Tubman leads slaves to freedom, their cloaks of red, yellow and vivid blue are illuminated against the landscape. Lawrence's paintings honor their subjects; they are alive with a movement and complexity that contrast well with the sparse simplicity of the text. Brief verse pares Tubman's experiences to their essence. The text seems simple ("Harriet, Harriet, / Born a slave, / Work for your master, / From your cradle / To your grave"), yet it resonates with a wealth of emotions--anger, fear, jubilation. The rhythmic pulse of the verse conveys constant danger, the howl of a bloodhound pack closing in. This moving and beautiful book will stimulate interest in the artist as well as in his subject. All ages.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr all levels-Jacob Lawrence, one of America's most prominent African-American artists, presents the story of Harriet Tubman.

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (October 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671866737
• ISBN-13: 978-0671866730
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,011,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars American Liberator Story told in pictures and evocative pros, December 7, 1998

By 

(Michael Crescimanno)[e-mail] (Kentucky, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harriet and the Promised Land (Hardcover)

Great story about a great woman, Harriet Tubman, american liberator. I read it with my children and they seem to delight in the cadence of the soulful prose and the beautiful bold art.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY WELL WRITEN TO CONVEY THE TRUE ATROCITIES OF SLAVERY., May 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Harriet and the Promised Land (Hardcover)

This children's book helps us to better understand the true feelings of an African-American person in the south. It is great for those of us who don't really have a grasp of what was going on.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two heroes, September 18, 2002

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Harriet and the Promised Land (Hardcover)

First published in 1968, this artistic book tells the awe-inspiring story of Harriet Tubman. It ought to be on the list of children's bestsellers, for it gives children the stories of two American heroes for the price of one. The first is the title figure, Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who escaped from slavery but courageously returned south 19 times to lead more than 300 others to freedom. The second is Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), who made this magnificent series of illustrations in 1939 and 1940.

The text is poetic. Early in the story, on a hot summer day in about 1820, "a group of slave children were tumbling in the sandy soil in the state of Maryland," Harriet Tubman among them. She dreamed of freedom and escaped, but returned to help others. The story builds as the selfless African-American leader risked her life many times to help others reach freedom. "Some were afraid, / But none turned back, / For close at their heels / Howled the bloodhound pack."

As the story closes, young readers find an enthralling figure of Harriet Tubman building support for the anti-slavery movement. At every convention within 500 miles, she could be found speaking in words and tones that brought tears to the eyes and sorrow to the hearts of all listeners.

Lawrence's paintings, made in tempera colors and poster paints, are poetic, too. Trained in the art workshops of Harlem in the 1930s, including the Utopia Children's House and the Harlem Art Workshop (sponsored by the New Deal), Lawrence became one of the finest African-American artists in U.S. history. His extraordinary talent was recognized when he was still relatively young.

Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he moved to Easton, Pennsylvania and then at seven to Philadelphia. At 13, Jacob moved again, to Harlem. Drawing on Bible stories and the powerful Christian sermons, often given on street corners, Lawrence remembered orators who spoke with reverence of Harriet Tubman and determined to show the African-American struggle for freedom in his art.

The Tubman series was one of Lawrence's earliest. It predated by only a couple of years the 60-panel migration series that made Lawrence's career in 1941-42. Half that series was bought by the Philips Gallery in Washington D.C. and the other half by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

But Lawrence's Tubman work is among his best. This book's only shortcoming is that it does not reproduce all of the Tubman paintings. Several were excluded and can be seen only in an art museum, or the pages of an art catalogue. But don't let that stop you. Children will find themselves doubly enriched. Alyssa A. Lappen