Author & Illustrator: Winter, Jeanette
Publisher: Dragonfly Books, 1988
Genre: Historical Fiction, Multicultural, Picture Book
Age Range: K-2
Summary: Follow the Drinking Gourd is based around the Civil War and slavery. Slavery was very popular back then and they worked on farms for farmers that owned all of these plantations. Peg Leg Joe did all he could do to help free all the slaves. He would sing them a song that was based on following the drinking gourd. He would travel from plantation to plantation singing this song in front of slaves hoping they would listen and pay attention to the worlds. When it came time for a slave to be sold a family sang "Follow the Drinking Gourd" for weeks till they arrived safe in Canada. They were not the only families that Peg Leg Joe had taught that song too. There were many families running away from these farms across the Ohio river to free themselves from slavery. Peg Leg Joe saved many families and helped them get out of slavery.
Response: Follow the Drinking Gourd was an excellent book. I would recommend this book for all classrooms studying the Civil War and slavery. It provided fiction based around the historical event that helps children learn more about history. I highly recommend this book, especially for younger ages when they are just starting to learn about history. The book even provides the song in the back of the book for the class to sing. This book made me feel happy and grateful that my family hasn't ever had to experience anything like that before. This book doesn't relate to my own experiences, but I am sure it does to many other families. This is great multicultural book to share with the classroom when demonstrating the racism and slavery that took place in our history of the United States. Children's minds will be pulled into this book and will understand more about the situation because of the illustrations and involvement of children their age and families.
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