Jeanette WinterFollow the Drinking Gourd

This is one of the best picture book biographies that I have read, and I have read several hundred picture books--many of them are biographies. The illustrations are inspired, and both the illustrations and the writing "Show"--rather than "Tell.""Muddy loved the 'SAY IT WITH ME!' voice of the preacher: and the 'GLORY! GLORY! ' singing of the choir: But the music Muddy really loved, they didn't play on Sundays.""What Muddy really loved was fish-fry music.It was shake off the dust and wring out your worries and laugh and cry and feel alive music.It was the blues, and Muddy couldn't get enough of it."An example of writing, at its best.

This song, adapted by folks who are not descendants of slaves is in fact a coded message about how to escape to the north. There is (in fact) no "drinking gourd" ... in fact, the slaves who were fleeing to the free states were asking for "directions." They sought to arrive at the Mississippi river and then the North Star (AKA the "big dipper or the "drinking gourd") would allow them to "let the dead trees" (which were a result of the natural flooding) "show them the way." Once these slaves who were part of the "Underground Railroad" made their way into free states, then they would become free folks, and build the foundation of this nation. My wife and I are in fact from India, but she loved this book as a B-Day gift. It is wonderfully written and illustrated.

During the time of slavery in the United States, many slaves were able to escape and find their way north to freedom by following the Drinking Gourd--Big Dipper. As the note at the beginning of this historical children's book tells, slaves learned a folk song entitled "Follow the Drinking Gourd". Masters and overseers thought the song harmless, though nonsensical. The song actually embedded directions on how to escape from the South into freedom in the North. I had known all of this before reading FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD. What I didn't know was about legendary Underground Railroad conductor, Peg Leg Joe.Using the lyrics of the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and the legend of Peg Leg Joe, Winter crafts a short tale about a slave family that follows the directions of the song that Joe teaches them to escape to freedom next spring. Accompanying the text are Winter's earth-toned illustrations displaying the family's escape and the dangers they endure on their journey.The last page of the book contains the lyrics and music to the folk song "Following the Drinking Gourd."FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD is an excellent tool in introducing children to the Underground Railroad. It's also a good story in teaching astronomy classes to illustrate how the stars have been used for different purposes throughout time.

Follow the Drinking Gourd (Paperback)by Jeanette Wintera great story of following directions.. if you look at its simplest form.Looking through the lenses of history this book has a lot of appeal, it brings to the for front the movement of the underground rail road and makes it into a story of a single family. This book is a great jumping point for looking into history. The song and the lyrics are a way to connect to the youngest of students. I used this in a second grade classroom for connections to Black/ African American history. We focused not only on the song but on the idea of freedom and dreams. This was the end of the unit, the children were asked to write a poem or song telling their steps to their dreams. They did learn a little of history along the way, and were able to understand the historical figures within this book.

This is a great classroom text. I used it for a mentor text with my students.

Love this book and was hoping to use it in my music classroom. BUT when I got it today they had BENT THE BOOK IN HALF to put it into a package that was too small. I’m pretty upset about buying a brand new book and finishing it ruined like that.

Read this to my 2nd grader for Black History Month

Beautiful illustrations, very educational, and a gift to the children’s books world.

Excellent book for Black History Month. My yr 3 class loved it and enjoyed learning the song it's based upon.

Great read for young readers to understand the Underground Railroad and the allies who helped slaves to freedom. The poetry of the song really compliments the storyline and the illustrations pulls it together. Great for all age groups.

Ordered this book as a resource to accompany the novel, "Underground to Canada", that I am doing with my ESL students.

This is a fantastic book. Purchased to use in FIAR.

Great book and arrived promptly. Thanks