Bound To Stay Bound

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Bulletin for the Center... - 02/01/2008 Despite the title, this book is not so much an account of a meeting as a biography of two legendary figures in the history of abolition. Clinton switches back and forth between the lives of the two heroines, describing their sometimes different, sometimes similar experiences from youth through the Civil War. The side-by-side accounts help broaden the picture of slavery and tacitly make the point that heroism and opposition weren’t localized phenomena. The chronicles are slight and sketchy, though, and since the account of the women’s meeting is imagined (a fact the text acknowledges), it’s rather an anticlimactic conclusion; the claim that sharing stories “built a friendship” seems a bit of an overstatement for two women who apparently never saw or communicated with each other again and who reportedly disagreed on a fundamental issue. Evans’ mixed-media art, combining line, paint, and textiles in three-quarter-spread illustrations, has an epic yet contemporary tone; the images, dramatic portraiture, have a strength of line and eloquence of expression that would suit a mural and that will carry well in a group showing. While Weatherford’s Moses (BCCB 11/06) and Rockwell’s Only Passing Through (BCCB 1/01) are better explorations of these legends’ lives, this could be used to expand the view of abolitionism as a movement featuring many heroes and heroines. The final page provides a concluding paragraph about each woman’s life; there are no notes. DS - Copyright 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 04/01/2008 Gr 3-7-This powerful picture book relates the lives of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth on alternating pages, leading up to the women's meeting in Boston in 1864. Many parallels are drawn between these two legendary figures born about 25 years apart and in different areas of the country. Compellingly told with a sure storyteller's cadence, Clinton's chronicle does not spare readers the harshness of the subjects' young years; they suffered beatings, witnessed siblings and family members sold away, endured hard labor, and risked everything for freedom. Both women renamed themselves, taking ownership of their lives and leading and inspiring others on the road to freedom. Evans uses strong outlines to create striking images in rich earth tones. A patchwork motif pieces the text panels and illustrations together with stitches, echoing the quilts mentioned in the text. One expressive illustration depicts young Harriet Tubman with her arms stretched out against a tree whose branches are filled with birds, as she dreams of flying to freedom. The visual parallel is an image of Truth cradling a baby with a bird-filled tree behind her, yearning for freedom for herself and her children. No reports or notes exist from their meeting, so unfortunately the climactic event in this book is all conjecture. An epilogue briefly outlines the rest of their lives, but no source notes are given. Nonetheless, this is a beautiful, uplifting book that is sure to inspire interest in these strong, amazing women.-Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OH Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 10/15/2007 Clinton imagines what might have been said during a meeting between Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, who both found themselves in Boston one day in October 1864. Their meeting is the climax of this picture book, which tells the stories of the two heroes in clear, simple words on alternating double-page spreads. Evans’ dramatic collage-style illustrations evoke the quilts the women worked on, piecing together their history. One curving silhouette-type picture shows Sojourner Truth preaching and lecturing, holding out “an arm made strong by years of slave labor” as she asks, “Aren’t I a woman?” Harriet Tubman, only five feet tall, but a giant among her people, is shown guiding runaways to safety on the Underground Railroad. A brief epilogue fills in the two biographies and presents a small black-and-white photo of each woman. Clinton notes that no one photographed the women together in Boston, and she provides no source notes, which may lead some to wonder if the meeting really happened. Even so, the compelling parallel narratives of two women “joined by a kinship of spirit still add up to stirring history. - Copyright 2007 Booklist.

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