Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman
by Alan Schroeder
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
40 Pages

This book tells about Harriet Tubman growing up on the Brodas plantation. The book talks about her experiences she had while living on that plantation. The reader is able to find out why Tubman became a field slave. One day Harriet decided to free muskrats from a trap and was then severely beaten. This experience led her to make up her mind that she was going to escape from the plantation. She was desperate to escape and talked to her parents about doing so every day. However, she did not escape to freedom until she was 24 years old.

Personal Rating-5

This book would be a good way to teach young students about slavery and the events that led to the beginning of the Underground Railroad. The book was easy to read and therefore students will be able to read it and learn a lot from it. I liked this book because it explained Harriet Tubman before she was famous. Every other book that I have read about her has been about her life after the Underground Railroad.

Slam

Slam
by Walter Dean Myers
288 Pages

This book is about a boy who is growing up in the “hood”. All he really cares about is basketball. He does poorly in school. His basketball doesn’t let him start any of the games because he thinks Slam only cares about himself and is not a team player. The book talks about some of the struggles and experiences Slam has growing up in his neighborhood. At one time Slam thinks his best friend is dealing crack. Slam learns the hard way that you have to make a positive effort in order to get rewards.

Personal Rating- 3

This book tended to jump around a lot. I found it hard to follow. It took me a long time to read this book and it really wasn’t that long. The author did not really do anything special to make this book exciting. I found it very dry. However, I think this book is good to read because it lets you experience different cultures. It opened me up to a different lifestyle. The reader gets to see that not everyone has an easy life.