Chasing Freedom

Straightforwardly, narrator Lizan Mitchell sets the book's historical scene. It's 1904, and Susan B. Anthony is to introduce Harriet Tubman at the 28th annual convention of the New York Suffrage Association. Mitchell's narration turns rhythmic as she delivers the lyrical writing of Nikki Grimes, who pictures the two women meeting over tea. Awaiting her guest, Anthony describes Tubman as a woman whose stories are "river deep." Mitchell actualizes that characterization in a voice that is deep, slow, and sonorous. Mitchell's portrayal of Anthony is crisp, with forceful bursts that reveal her beliefs and oratory skills. The audiobook's breadth is vast as it speaks of slavery, women's rights, and other historical events and people. Mitchell's vocal range enlivens the historical stories, the women's remembrances, and the interplay of their conversation. S.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

November 17, 2014
Grimes (Words with Wings) creates an absorbing fictional conversation, based on historical incidents and documented quotations, between two indefatigable 19th-century crusaders for equal rights. The author imagines Tubman paying a visit to Anthony’s home on the day of the 1904 convention of the New York State Suffrage Association in Rochester, N.Y., where Anthony introduced Tubman as guest speaker. As the two women trade stories about their callings, accomplishments, and aspirations, Grimes adeptly reveals their shared philosophies, faiths, passion, and courage. The women’s distinct personalities also surface, as do Tubman’s storytelling talents and Anthony’s oratory skills. Inspired by American patchwork quilts and African motifs, Wood’s (Going Back Home) primitive acrylic and oil paintings incorporate handsome geometric and floral patterns, but it’s her piercing portraits of these women that stand out most, accentuating their compassion and resolve. Back matter provides relevant historical notes and brief biographies of Tubman, Anthony, and other like-minded contemporaries mentioned in their conversation, including John Brown, Frederick Douglass, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Ages 7–10. Author’s agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. Illustrator’s agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

November 1, 2015

Gr 3-6-Grimes's latest work imagines a conversation between Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony in the hours prior to New York's 28th Annual Suffrage Convention in 1904. Although they've never met, the women know each other by reputation, and they trade stories of their experiences during the Civil War and the temperance and women's suffrage movements. As plausible as this meeting sounds, there is no evidence that the two women ever met, and while they shared several acquaintances, including Frederick Douglass, and believed in similar causes, these details are used by Grimes as literary devices to demonstrate how their lives were indirectly interwoven. Narrator Lizan Mitchell's performance as two of American history's most inspiring and influential individuals will leave listeners wishing for more. VERDICT Grimes's work delivers a powerful and insightful look at history through the eyes of two women who created it. ["A vanguard piece in an engaging new form that mixes nonfiction with historical fiction": SLJ 1/15 starred review of the Orchard book.]-Audrey Sumser, Kent State University at Tuscarawas, New Philadelphia, OH

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