Follow the Drinking Gourd

By Jeanette Winter

Book Overview

Illus. in full color. "Winter's story begins with a peg-leg sailor who aids slaves on their escape on the Underground Railroad. While working for plantation owners, Peg Leg Joe teaches the slaves a song about the drinking gourd (the Big Dipper). A couple, their son, and two others make their escape by following the song's directions. Rich paintings interpret the strong story in a clean, primitive style enhanced by bold colors. The rhythmic compositions have an energetic presence that's compelling. A fine rendering of history in picturebook format."--(starred) Booklist.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679819975
• ISBN13: 9780679819974
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Dragonfly Books
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 10.8" x 9.9"
• Age Range: 3 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

Follow the Drinking Gourd Is a Hit With 2nd Graders!

I used this book to help fulfill a story project requirement for my Children's Literature class at Kent State University. A partner and I read this book to two second-grade classes, who listened attentively. This version of the story has less text than Bernardine Connelly's version (same title), which made it appropriate for reading aloud within a limited time. The students seemed to enjoy the repetition of the song lyrics throughout. The illustrations are striking, with interesting and unusual color choices. The skin tones of the African-American characters are quite lovely, ranging from mahogany to very dark brown. Bright purples and oranges in the illustrations also stand out. The characters are depicted in a wide range of ages, from "Old Hattie" to "Little Isaiah." We used this book in conjunction with explanations of the Underground Railroad and another book, Barefoot by Pamela Duncan Edwards, as well as poems by African-American poet Langston Hughes. The difficult topics of selling slaves at auction, running away, and the fears the runaways had are sensitively treated. At the end of the book, when freedom is reached and Old Hattie exclaims, "'Five more souls are safe!'" I heard a collective gasp of emotion from the children. These students really seemed to enjoy learning about the Underground Railroad and how slaves escaped their bondage. The fact that we usually call the Drinking Gourd constellation the Big Dipper did take some repeated explanation on the part of the storytellers.

Courageous and inspirational tale of slavery.

My daughter read this book in her kindergarten class during Black history month and we loved it so much we bought a copy. It is an inspiring story of courage and triumph over adversity. The story is about a slave named Peg Leg Joe who leads other slaves to freedom by teaching them a song instructing them to "Follow the Drinking Gourd". The drinking gourd he refers to is the Big Dipper. Not only is this a great story about the Underground Railroad, it also inspired my daughter's interest in astronomy. I highly recommend it.

Excellent book for Februay- Black History Month

I read this book to my 1st grade students to teach them about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The illustrations were nice and my students caught on that they were really following the constellation (the dipper). I would highly recommend this book. It was THE BEST resource I could find to tie into Black History Month.