Harriet Beecher Stowe

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-Bland accurately portrays Stowe as a courageous woman who stood firm in her convictions, particularly in a time when they were not only unpopular, but also dangerous. By doing so, she made a monumental contribution to the antislavery movement and simultaneously established herself as a respected author. Although there is not really any new information here, the incidents leading up to Stowe's writing Uncle Tom's Cabin are deftly interspersed with information about her early and adult life. The text is well organized and presented in a readable and interesting fashion. Maureen Ash's The Story of Harriet Beecher Stowe (Childrens, 1990) offers much the same material in a slightly shorter format. Bland's book contains a generous number of good-quality black-and-white photographs, some of which are also found in Ash's book. An additional purchase to update or supplement biography collections.-Lesley McKinstry, Findlay-Hancock County Public Library, OH