 | |
| Author | Lesa Cline-Ransome |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | James Ransome |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Holiday House |
Publication date | 2017 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 32 |
| Awards | Coretta Scott King Award |
| ISBN | 9780823420476 |
| OCLC | 51795 |
Before She Was Harriet is a 2017 children's picture book written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by James Ransome, first published by Holiday House. It was awarded an honorary Coretta Scott King Award in 2018.
This children's picture book details the life of Harriet Tubman in a free verse journey on a train. It begins with Tubman as an old woman and moves backwards chronologically. The author outlines the many roles of Tubman: a suffragist, a boatman who ferried slaves across the Combahee River, a Union spy, a nurse for soldiers, a savior who helped her parents flee from slavery, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a slave named Minty, and finally a young slave named Araminta. She chooses to change her name to Harriet when she leaves slavery. The book ends with a picture of Tubman sitting on a train, finally free.
The book was written and illustrated by husband and wife team Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome. They have previously collaborated on fifteen books together. Cline-Ransome was nervous about approaching a book on Tubman, as there were already so many of them. Her husband did some research and suggested she write about Tubman's many roles in life. Ransome had already illustrated books about slavery before, so finding references was not a problem. Instead of painting historically accurate images, he focused on making them emotionally accurate. [1]
Before She Was Harriet was very well received. The Horn Book Magazine wrote about James Ransome illustrating Harriet's face at different angles but always with determination. [2] A starred Publishers Weekly review praises the author's use of beautiful concise language and the illustrator's "lush scenes." [3] A starred Booklist review, mentions how the poetry is simple enough for children while still being sophisticated in content. The critic says, "Libraries likely already have many Harriet Tubman books, but this well designed, unique approach warrants making room for one more." [4] The publication also included it in their list of the "Top 10 Biographies for Youth." [5] Critics from Kirkus Reviews enjoyed James Ransom's double paged watercolor illustrations, as they would help children fix themselves "in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past." [6] Barbara L. Talcroft from Children's Literature says, "Lesa Cline-Raonsome and James E. Ransome have created a fitting tribute to her with Before She Was Harriet. The Ransomes take readers on a journey through time, exploring the many roles Harriet Tubman assumed in her extraordinary life." [7]
Before She Was Harriet is a Junior Library Guild book. [8]
Booklist , [9] the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature, [10] the Chicago Public Library, [11] Kirkus Reviews named Before She Was Harriet one of the best books of 2017. [12] The following year, Booklist included it on their lists of the year's "Top 10 Diverse Picture Books" and "Top 10 Biographies for Youth". [13]
The Association for Library Service to Children included the audiobook narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson and others on their 2018 list of Notable Children's Recordings, [14] and Booklist included it on their 2018 list of "Audio Stars for Youth". [15]
| Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Charlotte Zolotow Award | Honor | [16] |
| Christopher Award for Books for Children Ages 6 and up | Won | [17] | |
| Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator | Honor | [18] | |
| Jane Addams Children's Book Award for Younger Reader | Honor | [19] | |
| Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award for Transitional Nonfiction | Honor | [20] | |
| NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children | Finalist | [21] |
In February 2018, Dreamscape released a 7-minute film adaptation of Before She Was Harriet. The film's animation includes an adapted version of James E. Ransome's "lush and detailed watercolor illustrations", which Booklist 's Jessica Lawrence notes "evoke the emotion, daring, and heroism of Tubman’s life". In a starred review of the film, Lawrence highlights how the film's "vivid background sounds and lovely violin, piano, and guitar music pair with Mia Ellis’ soothing narration, which conveys the transcendent human spirit of Harriet Tubman". [22]
Carole Boston Weatherford is an American author and critic. She has published over 50 children's books, primarily non-fiction and poetry. The music of poetry has fascinated Weatherford and motivated her literary career. She has won multiple awards for her books, including the 2022 Coretta Scott King Award for Author for her book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre. As a critic, she is best known for her controversial criticism of Pokémon character Jynx and Dragon Ball character Mr. Popo.
Adam Gidwitz is an American author of children's books, best known for A Tale Dark and Grimm (2010), In a Glass Grimmly (2012), and The Grimm Conclusion (2013). He received a 2017 Newbery Honor for The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog (2016). In 2021, his book A Tale Dark and Grimm was adapted into an animated miniseries on Netflix.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice is a 2009 young adult nonfiction book by Phillip Hoose, recounting the experiences of Claudette Colvin in Montgomery, Alabama, during the Civil Rights Movement.
El Deafo is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Cece Bell. The book is a loose autobiographical account of Bell's childhood and life with her deafness. The characters in the book are all anthropomorphic bunnies. Cece Bell, in an interview with the Horn Book Magazine, states "What are bunnies known for? Big ears; excellent hearing," rendering her choice of characters and their deafness ironic.
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman is a 1996 children's picture book by Alan Schroeder and is illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Released in 1996 by Dial Press, it is a fictionalized story of Harriet Tubman as a young girl.
Angie Thomas is an American young adult author, best known for writing The Hate U Give (2017). Her second young adult novel, On the Come Up, was released on February 25, 2019.
Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl is a 2003 picture book by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by James Ransome. It is a retelling by Hamilton, in the Gullah dialect, of the classic story of Bruh Rabbit outwitting Bruh Wolf.
Julie Berry is an American author of children's and young adults books and winner of several national book awards.
Renée Watson is an American teaching artist and author of children's books, best known for her award-winning and New York Times bestselling young adult novel Piecing Me Together, for which she received the John Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Josette Frank Award for fiction. Watson founded the nonprofit I, Too, Arts Collective to provide creative arts programs to the Harlem community. She is a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Brandy Colbert is an American author of young adult fiction and nonfiction.
James E. Ransome is an American illustrator of over 60 children's books. He has also illustrated greetings cards and magazines, and has been commissioned for murals, including three for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog is a young adult novel written by Adam Gidwitz and illuminated by Hatem Aly, published by Dutton Children's Books in 2016. It is set in medieval France and describes how three magical children meet each other and become outlaws. It was named a Newbery Honor book in 2017.
Lesa Cline-Ransome is an American author of picture books and middle grade novels, best known for her NAACP Image Award-nominated picture book biography of Harriet Tubman, Before She Was Harriet and her middle grade novel Finding Langston.
Before the Ever After is a middle-grade novel in verse by Jacqueline Woodson, published September 1, 2020 by Nancy Paulsen Books.
The Belles is a dystopian young adult novel series by Dhonielle Clayton, consisting of three books: The Belles (2018), The Everlasting Rose (2019) and The Beauty Trials (2023). The first two books are Junior Library Guild selections.
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre is a picture book written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Published on February 2, 2021, by Carolrhoda, it tells the history behind the Tulsa race massacre in verse.
Lev A. C. Rosen, also known as L. C. Rosen, is an American author.
Natasha Farrant is a British children's author. In 2020, she won the Costa Book Award for Children's Book for Voyage of the Sparrowhawk.
Kate McMullan is an American author of children's books. She has published over 100 books. Notable works include the Myth-o-Mania and Dragon Slayers' Academy book series.
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement is a 2015 non-fiction and poetic children's book by written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Ekua Holmes.