A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe

Picture Book Biography

by David A. Adler, Colin Bootman (Illustrator)

Author of instant bestseller "Uncle Tom's Cabin," Harriet Beecher Stowe dared to expose the horrors of slavery at a time when the American public was finally ready to acknowledge this terrible injustice.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, Nonfiction, American History, History, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

David Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.

Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.

Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.

As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the author's note, he states that many consider "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to be a racist book. I personally haven't read it and have no opinion on the subject, but it is interesting to see the role that it played in United States history. Like most things, people and books are not all good or all bad. There is nuance. I enjoyed reading this biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe.

[Elisabeth Ensor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and inspiring true story of a women who’s writings helped end slavery! Now I need to read uncle
Toms cabin for myself

[Ashley Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a biography about Harriet Beecher Stowe. It begins with Abraham Lincoln meeting her and saying his infamous line "So this is the little lady who made this big war." It then goes on to tell about her growing up and seeing that slavery was not right. When Harriet moved to Ohio she saw slaves being mistreated and this made a deep impression on her. Soon after she wrote Uncle Toms Cabin a book that is still read today. This book was an immediate best seller and many caused many people to see slavery in a new light.
I think this is a great book that could be used to begin a unit on the civil war. It gives just enough information about who Harriet Beecher Stowe was and the impact her book had on our country. In reading the book it will spark the interest of the students and have them think about what could be in a book that cause such a big war. Although I don't think the book gave us a lot of information about Harriot, I think that it is a great book to introduce the war.

[Kathryn Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book for my biography picture book. This book is a biography about Harrie Beecher Stowe.This book goes into details of Harriet Beecher Stowe's life. It was thought that her book Uncle Tom's cabin exposed the horrors of slavery and was the start of the Civil War. This book would play a huge impact during a social studies lesson on slavery or an American History lesson on the Civil War. Children will be able to understand what our country thought about slaves by reading this book. This picture book can help students relate because it is more understandable. The illustrations throughout this book are made of watercolors and are wonderful. They seem so realistic. Pictures also help students think more in depth. After reading this book, it would be good to have a class discussion to uncover what students know about Stowe, slavery and the Civil War.

[Brittney Finck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a biography based on Harriet Beecher Stowe. It begins with a brief background on Harriet Beecher Stowe, how she was the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and how she met President Abraham Lincoln. The story moves on touching on Stowe's family as a child, her schooling, and her interest in slavery. Through the reading of this quick biography I was able to learn more about an author I enjoy. The children could benefit from this story in many ways. It could also be used as an introductory source to slavery, Uncle Tom's Cabin, writing, the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, or even the Civil War.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe is a picture biography about the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. It is told in a simplistic fashion, making it readable for young children.

The pictures are oil painted in an impressionistic style with almost all the pictures as two page spreads. It is possible to read to a class because of the large pictures, however the simplistic text might make it more suitable for individual readers.

This is a good book for young girls, as it focus' on a woman's effort during the Civil War, and would be a good book to add to a section on the Civil War in the classroom.

Recommended for first and second grade.

[Kelly Thevenot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a biography about the life of Harriet Beecher Stowe. When teaching a lesson over social studies and slaves, this book would be very helpful. Children get a better understanding of the life of slavery when reading this book. It is a picture book, so children young and old can get information from it while looking at the great illustraions.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy these picture books and keep getting them for my kids, not sure if they enjoy them as much as I do, but I want them to know about people and what effect they have had on our country.

[Judy Desetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy biography of Stowe

purchase for our collection.