Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman

by Dorothy Sterling

“Freedom Train” is a biography of Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman was interviewed many times by Northern journalists when she was elderly. Other, literate members of the Underground Railroad who met Ms.Tubman or worked with her, journaled the conversations they had with her. Fortunately, much of what was recorded took place in the North and survived intact after the Civil War. Dorothy Sterling, the author, was able to locate these accounts and use them in this biography.

I read this book aloud to my students. They were enthralled because the author made Ms. Tubman’s life come alive with the telling of beatings, cruelty, and violence. I admit that I dramatized the story as much as I could to keep them interested.

The story of Harriet Tubman’s struggle as a slave, her brave escape as a teenager, and her incredible courage as a rescuer and savior of hundreds of slaves would touch even the most cold-hearted reader. However, the pace of the story slows down too much after the John Brown uprising at Harper’s ferry.

My students lost interest in the latter part of Ms. Tubman’s life when she stopped rescuing slaves and became a political creature. Unfortunately, the last chapters drag.
Had I been the author, I would have ended the story with Harriet’s last rescue and added an epilogue to briefly explain Ms. Tubman’s later years.

Lesson Plan at:
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-famous/tubman.html