Harriet Tubman, force of nature : a biography in poems

Author

Caroline Brewer

Call Number

• J 921 TUBMAN (CEN, EAS, OSH, POW)

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Publication Information

Greenbelt, Maryland : What on Earth!, 2025.

Physical Description

47 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), 1 color map ; 28 cm

Audience

Ages 8-11. CLCD.

Summary

When Harriet Tubman was born enslaved in Dorchester County, Maryland in 1822, nobody knew this tiny Black girl-child would be so rooted in the natural world. Nobody knew she would find her way by the stars or move through the woods as silently as an owl or hear God speaking to her in trances. Nobody knew that, against all odds, she would use her oneness with the environment and spirit to escape the brutality that was slavery, rescue hundreds of others from the same fate, embrace the joys of freedom, and become a national hero. Nobody knew she would be a force of nature. With compelling poetry perfect for reading aloud and luminous collage illustrations, Caroline Brewer brings readers of all ages the story of Harriet Tubman in a way it has never been told before.

Contents

• 1822-1835. Spring
• Born day
• What slavery says
• Child's play
• The end of play
• Muskrat misery
• Home, where the healing is
• Inner visions
• Mid 1830s-1849. Unchained
• The mellow marsh
• Woodlands and waterways
• Black jacks along the bay
• New vows
• Stealing away
• Secret jubilation
• The sky in her eyes
• Silent as the owl
• Oh, oh, freedom!
• 1850-1860. Freedom-bound, underground
• No turning back
• Music in the air
• Food for the hungry
• Prayer changes things
• Wade in the water
• 1861-1865. Up from the Underground
• The Civil War comes to Harriet's door
• The mercy of a sunset
• The combahee free
• 1869-1913. Legacy. A force of nature.