A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman (Picture Book Biography) [Paperback]

David A. Adler (Author), Samuel Byrd (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Picture Book Biography

Biography of the black woman who escaped from slavery to become famous as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-- Basic facts and often-related incidents from Tubman's life are presented in brief vignettes. Adler includes a description of her as a slave child being whipped for stealing a lump of sugar; as a young woman receiving a serious head wound while intervening between a master and his runaway slave; as an escaped slave and conductor on the Underground Railroad; and a nurse and spy during the Civil War. The easy-to-read, but superficial narrative moves along with lively language suitable for reading aloud. Readers who want more in-depth information are on : their own; no sources for the many quotations or suggestions for further reading are included. The watercolor and colored-pencil artwork is uneven in quality. Many of the full-page, dark-toned, impressionistic paintings are excessively dark and unattractive; Tubman never looks the same in any two paintings. Smith's Harriet Tubman (Messner, 1989) is a more detailed biographical account. Ferris's Go Free or Die (Carolrhoda, 1988) is a good choice for older students. --Eunice Weech, M. L. King Elem . School, Urbana, IL
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

David A. Adler is the author of Fun with Roman Numerals and Money Madness. He lives in New York State.

Samuel Byrd is a painter, muralist, and illustrator. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughter

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 29 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082341065X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823410651
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 9.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( A ) > Adler, David A.
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Biographies > People of Color
  • #54 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Biographies > Historical

More About the Author

I write both fiction and non-fiction. I begin my fiction with the main character. The story comes later. Of course, since I'll be spending a lot of time with each main character, why not have him or her be someone I like? Andy Russell is based, loosely, on a beloved member of my family. He's fun to write about and the boy who inspired the character is even more fun to know. Cam Jansen is based even more loosely on a classmate of mine in the first grade whom we all envied because we thought he had a photographic memory. Now, especially when my children remind me of some promise they said I made, I really envy Cam's amazing memory. I have really enjoyed writing about Cam Jansen and her many adventures. For my books of non-fiction I write about subjects I find fascinating. My first biography was Our Golda: The Life of Golda Meir. To research that book, I bought a 1905 set of encyclopedia. Those books told me what each of the places Golda Meir lived in were like when she lived there. I've written many other biographies, including books about Martin Luther King, Jr; George Washington; Abraham Lincoln; Helen Keller; Harriet Tubman; Anne Frank; and many others in my Picture Book Biography series. I've been a Yankee and a Lou Gehrig fan for decades so I wrote Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man. It's more the story of his great courage than his baseball playing. Children face all sorts of challenges and it's my hope that some will be inspired by the courage of Lou Gehrig. I am working now on another book about a courageous man, Janusz Korczak. My book One Yellow Daffodil is fiction, too, but it's based on scores of interviews I did with Holocaust survivors for my books We Remember the Holocaust, Child of the Warsaw Ghetto, The Number on My Grandfather's Arm, and Hiding from the Nazis. The stories I heard were compelling. One Yellow Daffodil is both a look to the past and to the future, and expresses my belief in the great spirit and strength of our children. I love math and was a math teacher for many years, so it was fun for me to write several math books including Fraction Fun, Calculator Riddles, and Shape Up! Fun with Triangles and Other Polygons. In my office I have this sign, "Don't Think. Just Write!" and that's how I work. I try not to worry about each word, even each sentence or paragraph. For me stories evolve. Writing is a process. I rewrite each sentence, each manuscript, many times. And I work with my editors. I look forward to their suggestions, their help in the almost endless rewrite process. Well, it's time to get back to dreaming, and to writing, my dream of a job. David A. Adler is the author of more than 175 children's books, including the Young Cam Jansen series. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman, February 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman (Picture Book Biography) (Paperback)

This is a great book for young readers. I used it to introduce second graders to Harriet Tubman and the times in which she lived. David Adler uses simple sentences to explain complex issues including slavery, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, and other issues surrounding this time in American history. I highly recommend all the David Adler Picture Books for young readers to get their first glimse into the lives of important people in history.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for children!, September 26, 2005

By 

Book mom (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman (Picture Book Biography) (Paperback)

I purchased this book for my 8 year old daughter, who had to sumbit a book report for school. It was an easy read and the pictures were great. I recommend it to other parents as we were very pleased with the book.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be careful reading to younger audiences, February 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman (Picture Book Biographies) (Hardcover)

It is important to monitor the word choice that the author uses when you are reading this book to a younger audience. They do not understand how you can die from a paper weight being thrown at them or harsh things like whipping or beating. Such vocabulary can be abrasive for you children. Overall the book is beneficial for African American History month.