Poet and author Nikki Grimes (Words with Wings) and artist Michele Wood (I See the Rhythm) together present two fascinating figures from history, as if they were engaged in conversation: Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman.
The historical framework is factual. In 1904 at the 28th annual convention of the New York State Suffrage Association, in Rochester, Anthony introduced the famous conductor on the Underground Railroad, who was a guest speaker. Grimes then imagines a conversation between them in Anthony's home, prior to the convention. Each page number appears against what resembles a quilt square. Woods's acrylic and oil paintings carry this theme throughout the book. As Susan takes Harriet's coat, a vine of leaves threads through the patterns of Susan's gray gown, and diamond motifs dominate Harriet's dress in chocolate brown. This palette connects the pair throughout the book. Harriet's warm rust-colored turban becomes an identifying detail in the images that chart her journey on subsequent pages. Grimes covers a lot of ground, touching on the Temperance, Abolitionist and Women's Suffrage movements, the Quakers' involvement in them, and Tubman's many trips to rescue her own family, then others from captivity. Grimes's conversational tone makes accessible an abundance of information. Some may wish for attribution of sources from which she based her quotes, but four meaty pages of sources will point them to further reading.
Readers may be surprised to learn how closely Frederick Douglass worked with the two women, as well as John Brown and others. An eye-opening, aesthetically pleasing account of two extraordinary women. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness