NEW paperback

In Their Own Words: Sojourner Truth Roop, Peter and Roop, Connie

From School Library JournalGrade 36The Roops make use of recollections, historical photos, letters, and newspaper articles to reveal the personality behind Truths famous rousing oratory, Aint I a Woman? The biography covers the subjects birth into enslavement through her tireless travels across the country speaking out against slavery and fighting for social reforms, and her death at age 86 in 1883 The final chapter highlights Truths induction into the National Womens Hall of Fame in 1981 This book gives a complete picture, providing facts and insight into the womans character and convictions Blackandwhite photos and reproductions are scattered throughout Younger and reluctant readers will appreciate the large font and straightforward yet compelling narrationAjoke T I Kokodoko, OaklandPublic Library, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, IncProduct DescriptionThis unique biography of Sojourner Truth tells the exciting story of her life using personal recollections, as well as letters and articles written by those who knew herI am pleading for the mothers, Who gaze in wild despair, Upon the hated auctionblock, And see their children thereWith these words Sojourner Truth sang about the pain that women slaves felt when their children were sold away from them Sojourner Truth was born a slave in New York Her son Peter was taken away from her and she went to extraordinary lengths to get him back Through hard work and the help of her friends, Sojourner freed herself and her children from slavery As a free woman, she traveled across the country speaking against slavery and in favor of womens rightsFrom BooklistGr 35 Born a slave, she refused to remain one Without being condescending or simplistic, this small, readable paperback, with spacious type and occasional blackandwhite prints, brings the extraordinary Sojourner Truth life story to a middlegrade audience The biography is part of the In Their Own Words series, but since Sojourner Truth was illiterate, the authors tell her story by quoting extensively from her speeches and from the autobiography she dictated to a friend, explaining in their fine introduction how they used primary and secondary sources Quietly told, the horrifying facts of slavery are personalized in the account of her familys separation Theres also a strong sense of her courage and determination The chapters about her many years of working as abolitionist and as an active supporter of womens rights introduce the history and the issues she so passionately supported For reading aloud and for reports, this will be welcome in the history classroom A chronology, a bibliography, and a list of Web sites and museums, and further readings are appended Hazel RochmanCopyright American Library Association All rights reserved