Before She Was Harriet

I was starstruck when I met Lesa Cline-Ransome and her husband, James E. Ransome, this summer and I was thrilled to find that they are as warm and welcoming as they are talented. This multi-award-winning duo have so many good books to choose from but for the younger readers I want to highlight this book, Before She Was Harriet.

This is biography of Harriet Tubman pulls readers in by telling the story of her life backwards. We are all familiar with the amazing woman who led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom at the risk of her own life, but many don't know how she fought for the right for all women to vote, how she was a spy and a General, and how she nursed soldiers on the battlefield. We know she was raised under the brutal conditions of slavery, whipped and beaten but somehow strong enough to overcome. But the point that hits home is this: before she did all those incredible things, she was just a little girl. A little girl named Araminta,
"taught by her father
to read
the woods
and
the stars
at night"
a person, like you, like me.

Share Before She Was Harriet with your kids. Have them write about who they were before they became who they are now. What did they like? What was important to them? We often ask kids "what do you want to be when you grow up?" but really our paths take so many twists like Harriet's does. Instead, have your kids write their answers to the question "how do you want to make the world a better place?" Or "what is important to you now?" "What kinds of actions do you want to take?" If you are a parent, add the question, "How can I help?" One little girl named Araminta who chose the name Harriet Tubman did so much good. Who knows what our kids may do if we let them know their positive actions matter.