by Andrea Pinkney, Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Jump at the Sun
11/1/2009, hardcover
SKU: 9780786807673
Born into slavery, Belle had to endure the cruelty of several masters before she escaped to freedom. But she knew she wouldn't really be free unless she was helping to end injustice. That's when she changed her name to Sojourner and began traveling across the country, demanding equal rights for black people and for women. Many people weren't ready for her message, but Sojourner was brave, and her truth was powerful. And slowly, but surely as Sojourner's step-stomp stride, America began to change.
Review:
"Down came Sojourner's hand. An iron fist, smashing the lies of the day." The words in this rousing fictional biography express the fiery spirit of Sojourner Truth, who escaped from slavery and became a leading abolitionist and feminist. Both text and images show the cruelty she experienced in the South, when she was sold away from her parents. After fleeing north, she found work as a maid and began to draw crowds with her speeches: "When she preached, she let the words fly." The story reaches its dramatic peak in scenes of a women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio, in 1851, when Truth delivered her famous "And ain't I a woman?" speech in response to men's claims that women are too weak to deserve equal rights. The storyteller's colloquial narration and full-page scenes of Truth, rendered in swirling, energetic lines, make this a great read-aloud choice for young children, who will want to move from the fictional story to the appended biographical notes, which include a bibliography and archival portraits, including one with President Lincoln.- Booklist
About the Contributors:
Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney have collaborated on several award-winning picture books, including Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra and Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa. They live in Brooklyn, New York.
Brian Pinkney is the illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including the Caldecott Honor Books Duke Ellington and The Faithful Friend, and the Coretta Scott King Award winner In the Time of the Drums.