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From Horn Book

January 1, 2019
Schmidts hauntingly beautiful, uncompromisingly direct picture-book biography takes larger-than-life figure Sojourner Truth (1797?1883) from childhood to old age, focusing on her acts of courage at a time when black Americans had few legal rights. Minters watercolor and mixed-media art is stunning, often making Truth the largest figure on the page or spread. An essential text for studying Civil Warera American history.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

August 1, 2018

Gr 1-4-Focusing on the impact of slavery on Sojourner Truth's life and her ongoing fight to end the institution, Schmidt and Minter choose a lyrical and evocative approach to her story. Readers learn about the hardships and cruelty she endured under various masters before her walk to freedom and her legal battle to regain custody of her son. Schmidt incorporates the woman's own words as he recounts her anti-slavery speeches to crowds and her meeting with President Lincoln as she walked thousands of miles to advocate for freedom. Minter's illustrations, arresting at first glance, grow deeper and more compelling with repeated viewing. The vertical panels incorporate images such as ships crossing the ocean and slave collars. Equally striking are recurrent motifs of leaves, roots, and trees in depictions of events from Sojourner's life. Shadowy figures of people from the past, present, and future tie her struggle from the particular to the universal. Because the book omits important events such as her 1851 women's rights speech and minimizes the religious motivation for her activism and preaching, readers should also have access to other introductory biographies such as Andrea Davis Pinkney's Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride, Ann Turner's My Name Is Truth, and Anne Rockwell's Only Passing Through. VERDICT Outstanding illustrations make this a noteworthy addition to most libraries, but collections need to keep other books about Sojourner Truth to present multiple facets of her significant achievements.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University Library, Mankato

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

August 1, 2018
Grades 1-4 Sojourner Truth's story began when she was a little girl named Isabella Baumfree, a slave sold many times over through childhood and adulthood until she broke free and set her life on her own course. Schmidt chronicles this woman's remarkable accomplishments: using her knowledge of the law to regain her son, moving to New York City to find siblings she had never known, changing her name to Sojourner Truth, and spreading the word about the evils of slavery. Schmidt's narrative glosses over the logistics of such achievements, making them seem easy, and language such as she worked for rather than she was owned by mitigates the reality of her life as a slave. Readers will do well to explore the additional sources he provides in the back matter. However, this picture-book biography is notable for Minter's arresting paintings, which capture both the pain of slavery and Sojourner Truth's strength. White lacelike details overlay passionate brushstrokes in blue, copper, and red, and vertical panels accompany lines of poetry containing a timely message on freedom.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from July 16, 2018
Schmidt tells the powerful story of Sojourner Truth (born Isabella), highlighting the context of her courageous actions: "When Isabella was about nine, she was sold for a hundred dollars-along with a flock of sheep." After a lifetime of slavery, Isabella escaped, yet her five-year-old son was sent to the South, leading her to travel across New York to speak to the Grand Jury. Minter paints luminously, alternating between full-bleed spreads and dreamlike vertical images. At the denouement, Schmidt describes how Isabella took on the name of Sojourner Truth as she embarked on her walking journey to denounce slavery: "In Freedom Time, when Hope kindled a fire in the dark and Happiness winked over the horizon." A soaring poetic tribute to a human rights champion. Ages 4—8.

From Kirkus

Starred review from July 15, 2018
The life and work of Sojourner Truth are detailed in this lyrical picture book by Schmidt (Martín de Porres, illustrated by David Diaz, 2012).The book begins "In Slavery Time, when Hope was a seed waiting to be planted." Most of Isabella's brothers and sisters were sold away before she could remember, but her mother told her that the same moon and stars looked down upon them all. Then Isabella was sold and separated from her mother. She was made to work hard, then made to marry, then promised freedom but not granted it, so finally she "seized Freedom with her own hands." Her son was sold away from her, and she used the law to get him back. After reuniting with some of her own siblings, she decided to make "a journey--a sojourn--to tell the truth about Slavery." Schmidt details the states she stopped in and quotes words she used to speak her truth. (The bibliography describes the manuscript from which her words are quoted.) The poetic text highlights her inner journey, giving readers not just a strong historical figure, but a human being in insufferable circumstances, a feat not often accomplished in books for young readers, particularly about enslaved people. Minter's art is emotional and haunting, with colors of blue and auburn, near-transparent silhouettes, faces that have seen too much, and nature looking on. The art itself tells stories of stolen childhood, torn families, and finding purpose. Powerful, moving, necessary. (biographical note, artist's note) (Picture book/biography. 6-12)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From AudioFile Magazine

Narrator Channie Waites captures the pain, struggle, and ultimate triumph of a New York slave named Isabella, who later became known as Sojourner Truth. With precise, clear diction, Waites delivers the dramatic story of Isabella's fight for her and her son's freedom, emphasizing the impassioned quality of Schmidt's evocative prose. Waites uses distinct timbres and cold tones to depict the white master and his wife who enslaved Isabella. Later in her life, Truth walked thousands of miles across the country advocating for an end to slavery. This audiobook especially shines when Waites delivers Truth's own words, taken from her speeches. A biographical note gives more context to the story of this strong and influential historical figure. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine