Only Passing through: The Story of Sojourner Truth

From Our Editors
The Barnes & Noble Review
In most history classes, the life and career of Sojourner Truth is only touched upon briefly. It is mentioned that she was part of the abolitionist movement and spoke all over the country about the evils of slavery. But Sojourner's whole story has more was much more intriguing and inspiring.

At the age of nine, Sojourner Truth, known then as Isabella, is purchased at a slave auction by John Dumont, a cruel slave master who often beats her for not understanding English (her first language was Dutch). At 16, Isabella is given to a male slave as a gift, in the hope that she will breed more slaves for her master's profit. Five babies and five years later, Dumont promises to free Isabella; unbeknownst to her, a state law has been decreed, encouraging slave owners to free adult slaves. But when the big day arrives, Dumont claims that Isabella did not work hard enough for him and denies her her freedom. Unwilling to accept this, Isabella runs away and luckily finds a white couple who believe that slavery is wrong. They officially buy her from Dumont and give Isabella her freedom.

Living near the Dumont farm, Isabella is able to visit her children, who are still enslaved. But on one visit, she finds that her son Peter is missing; Dumont has sold him to someone in Alabama. Knowing that it is against the law to sell a slave across state lines, Isabella gathers all her courage, gets a lawyer, and decides to fight -- and she wins. From that moment on, she knows that her mission is to spread the word about her time as a slave. She renames herself Sojourner, which means one who travels from place to place.

The text in this book is beautifully and clearly written, detailing some lost facts about this courageous woman. The illustrations are just as compelling, rendered sometimes in intense colors and at other times in subdued earth tones. Each picture perfectly reflects the agony of slavery and the determination of an unlikely hero like Sojourner Truth.

--Amy Barkat

From the Publisher
A powerful picture book biography of one of the abolitionist movement's most compelling voices.

Sojourner Truth traveled the country in the latter half of the 19th century, speaking out against slavery. She told of a slave girl who was sold three times by age 13, who was beaten for not understanding her master's orders, who watched her parents die of cold and hunger when they could no longer work for their keep. Sojourner's simple yet powerful words helped people to understand the hideous truth about slavery. The story she told was her own.

Only Passing Through is the inspiring story of how a woman, born a slave with no status or dignity, transformed herself into one of the most powerful voices of the abolitionist movement. Anne Rockwell combines her lifelong love of history with her well-known skill as a storyteller to create this simple, affecting portrait of an American icon.

From the Critics
From Publisher's Weekly - Publishers Weekly  
Though writing in the third person, Rockwell (Bumblebee, Bumblebee, Do You Know Me?) here gives Sojourner Truth an authentic, resonant voice. Ably tailoring her account to a young audience, the author opens her story as nine-year-old Isabella is being sold at a slave auction in Kingston, N.Y., in 1806. The narrative follows the heroine through her transformation into "Sojourner Truth," an itinerant preacher against the evils of slavery. After being denied the freedom that her master had promised her in 1826, the young woman escapes to the home of a nearby couple who abhor slavery; they then buy Isabella from her deceitful master and free her. Rockwell documents some remarkable incidents and demonstrates how far ahead of her time Isabella was: when her son is illegally sold to a plantation owner in another state, Isabella takes the perpetrator to court and wins the boy's freedom. "No one had ever heard of such a thing. Slaves didn't do such things. Women didn't do such things. But Isabella did." The author dramatically builds up to and convincingly recounts the pivotal moment when Isabella changes her name and vows to travel the country as "a voice for all the silent slaves still in bondage." Rockwell's vibrant storytelling, powerful content and moving author's note will likely send readers off to further reading about this extraordinary heroine. Christie (The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children) contributes stylized paintings that suggest a complex interior life for Sojourner. The artwork skillfully approaches the abstractDtwisting traditional perspective in a way that illuminates Sojourner's groundbreaking vision and voice. Ages 7-10. (Dec.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
 
From School Library Journal  
Gr 3-6-Anne Rockwell's poignant telling of the life of Sojourner Truth (Knopf, 2000) is beautifully presented in this exquisite book on tape. Renee Joshua-Porter reads the book, capturing its spirit in her measured and expressive tones. The tape begins and ends with Joshua-Porter's singing of two significant hymns from Sojourner Truth's life. The audiobook follows her from slavery to emancipation, then shows her speaking out against the horrors of slavery. Her powerful words influenced a nation. Her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech is included, as well as a recounting of her visit with President Abraham Lincoln. The book clearly shows Sojourner's courage in standing up for what she believed in despite threats against her personal safety. Sojourner Truth's story can set an example and inspire today's generation. Teachers will find this exceptional production valuable during Black History Month and throughout the year.-Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
 
From AudioFile  
The power of words, truth, and knowledge are touchstones for Sojourner Truth. In 1843 she is convinced that she should share the story of her previous life of bondage to aid in the fight against slavery. As she walks and speaks throughout the Northeast, her voice becomes eloquent and influential in her quest to "proclaim liberty." Renee Joshua-Porter presents a total package in this recording. Her rich, deep voice gives powerful support to the courage and conviction of Truth's journey. She augments Rockwell's text with Truth's beloved hymns and a performance of her "Ain't I a Woman" speech, set against an aural backdrop of newspaper headlines. The listener comes away with a strong, vivid sense of Sojourner Truth's impact on the world. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
 
From Leonard S. Marcus - Parenting  
The story of Sojourner Truth, the freed slave who became a spokesperson and an inspiration for her people, receives an unflinchingly honest and eloquent airing in this narrative with dramatic expressionist illustrations.
 
From Kirkus Reviews  
A lot of information is packed into this picture-book biography. Sojourner, originally named Isabella, was a Dutch-speaking child born into slavery. Details about her life in slavery, when she was purchased by an English-speaking master, her marriage to a man selected by her master, the birth and loss of her children, and the events leading up to her transformation to an advocate for freedom, are recounted with passion. Rockwell (Career Day, p. 720, etc.) adds an author's note explaining her motivation for writing this biography and cites Sojourner's autobiography as her most helpful source. Additional information includes data about the subject's life beyond the events chronicled and a timeline. The book is written in serial style, with a cliffhanger phrase at the end of each page. Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner Christie's (The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children, 1996) primitive-style illustrations are striking. Oversized, mask-like heads, often fierce and foreboding, dominate many of the drawings. Earth-toned colors predominate in the stark depiction of Sojourner's early life and the slave owners who mistreated her, but her strength shines through in all the illustrations. An excellent addition to the biography shelf as a compelling story of an extraordinary woman, as well as for its pertinence to school assignments. (Picture book/biography. 7-10)