I read a book about Harriet Beecher Stowe. She grew up in Litchfield, Connecticut. She moved to different cities, due to her fathers job. She loves to write. At the age of only sixteen she was a teacher. While taking a break from teaching in the summer time, she discovered slavery and how unfair it was. She saw their slaveholders were mistreating the slaves; she knew she needed to do something about this. What does she do? She does what she does best, she writes about what she saw. Her book was title, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriet Beecher Stowe's book was one of the causes of the Civil War. This book gave people an understand what these slaves go through everyday. She was very passionate to make a difference and to have justice in the world. It is said that, "she was revered as a heroine in her own times and remains an inspiration in ours." The author started the book with Harriet Beecher Stowe and President Lincoln talking. President Lincoln told her, "So this is the little lady who made this big war." As the reader, you know from the start that she caused a war but not sure how or why. Then the author starts telling the story from her birth. I really liked that the author did this. As a teacher you could stop and ask your class...do you think she meant to cause a war? Do you think the war was a good or bad thing? It grabs the reader/readers attention and make them listen throughout the story to see what this war was all about. ( )

Harriet Beecher Stowe was the powerful author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. She was born in Connecticut and moved to different states through her life. She was not genuinely wanted by her father and her mother died when she was five years old. She then married her friends husband after her friend has passed and was greatly in love at times. Stowe then discovered the horrors of slavery on a break from teaching. She was greatly touched by the sight of the slaves being treated unfairly. Her favorite thing to do was write. Sometimes she thought that was her only escape. She wrote many different things, but Uncle Tom's Cabin was her most famous work and was said to be a cause of the Civil War. Slavery is something I have never been fond of. I agree with Stowe on the negativity of slavery and am thankful that she has, "helped shape the destiny of the American people". (Adler 27) ( )

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a best-selling book that empowered people to fight against slavery. Harriet loved to read books from a young age. She was a very smart woman who became a teacher at the age of sixteen! Harriet also loved to write, and she wanted to use her talents to create positive change in the world. In 1832, Harriet’s family moved to Ohio (a free state) just across the river from Kentucky (a slave state). When Harriet saw the rewards for runaway slaves and rewards for killing abolitionists, she knew she had to take a stand. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote many different stories and articles, but she is most famous for the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin – an antislavery book. I really enjoyed reading about how a woman broke the stereotypes of her time to bring awareness to an injustice that was occurring in her country. ( )

"A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe" was one of my lesser favorite of the books I have recently read. The thing I liked about it was how on the first page she met Lincoln and he referenced to the war by saying something like "so this is the lady that started the war." I do think this book would be a great way to teach the kids of the time frame because the picture books definately show how aged the books timeline is supposed to be. Having said that, I would have thought that a book that was suppose to honor such an iconic woman would have been better. Alas, I did like the purpose of it, to show her achievements and her life.

Classroom extension ideas: Have the kids say what great things she did after reading the story. Second, have them draw their interpretation of Harriet meeting Lincoln.

This book tells the life of Harriet Beecher Stowe. This would be a great book to use while teaching about this era because the illustrations and text make it easier to visualize. ( )