As I watched the movie, HARRIET, I felt as if my book MOSES, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, were coming to life. However, to say that the movie, or my book, was faithful to her biography would be false. Masterfully executed, the film included composite and archetypal characters, as well as dramatic episodes which were not in the 1848 narrative that Harriet dictated to Sarah Bradford. Yet, the movie was true to Harriet’s faith journey. The spirits of Harriet, of William Still and of her enslaved kin and bands of runaways were conveyed with deserved magnitude. Harriet’s courageous exploits–on the Underground Railroad and as a Civil War spy–are legendary. Though barely five feet tall, the real-life Mother Tubman was larger than any myth, any movie, or for that matter, any piece of money that may bear her portrait. May her miracles continue to inspire.

Harriet Tubman has been a hero of mine since I first heard her name while a student at Edgewood Elementary in Baltimore’s Walbrook Junction. I loved her even before I knew she hailed from Dorchester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore–just like my grandfather. So you can imagine, I’m excited about the HARRIET movie–especially since I collaborated with Kadir Nelson to tell her story in MOSES: When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom.

MOSES and other children’s books can introduce young people to Mother Tubman before they see the movie. Two that most inspire me are Minty by Alan Schroeder and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney and Before She Was Harriet  a collaboration between my friends Lesa Cline Ransome and James Ransome. Harriet’s story never gets old. It’s powerful every single telling. She was that FIERCE!

With illlustrations by James Ransome and a unique braided narrative, this picture book shows how young activists can follow Dr. King’s example and be drum majors for justice in their own schools and communities. The poetic text is tailor-made for choral reading. I just love hearing students chant, “You can be a King!”

Carole Boston Weatherford and Gregory Christie, the team behind the Caldecott Honor book Freedom in Congo Square, first collaborated on Dear Mr. Rosenwald. The story in verse conveys how sharecroppers invested in education to give their children a brighter future. The new paperback edition includes lots of primary sources in the back matter. This under-the-radar book garnered four starred reviews and an SCBWI Golden Kite Honor and was adopted by Boston Public Schools for all second graders. Dear Mr. Rosenwald is ideal for a K-5 common read. Available only on Amazon.

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-ins tells this story through the eyes of a fictional eyewitness who wants to eat at the whites-only lunch counter. Here’s a bookmark with a banana split recipe to share with your students.