Monday, April 18, 2011

The Drinking Gourd




Title: The Drinking Gourd
Author: Jeanette Winter
Genre: Historical fiction
Ages: 9-12

Summery: This story is about a slave family who wants to escape to freedom and their journey to get there. They were once taught a song by a man named Peg Leg Joe that would help lead them to freedom. They sang this song all the way to Canada where they were finally free. 

About the Author: Jeanette Winter was born in Manchester, England. She later attended Oxford University where she wrote her first novel at the age of 23. She now is a regular in many of the UK papers.
Theme/skill: Slavery

Pre-reading activity: Discuss what a slave was. Is it legal today? why or why not? 
Post reading activity: Sing the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" as a class. 

Overall, I really liked this book. It discusses slavery in a child appropriate way and allows for great class discussions.

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