Follow the Drinking Gourd

I decided to read this book, written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter, after watching a video adaptation of it in a class I was substitute teaching for. I remember watching the same video every year when I was in elementary school, and I was reminded of how great a book it is. I couldn’t get the song “Follow the Drinking Gourd” out of my head for the rest of the day!

This book tells the story of runaway slaves following the Underground Railroad making their way north. They use a song about following the big dipper (the “drinking gourd”) to guide them to freedom. I really enjoyed the “Note about the Story” included at the beginning of the book. It gave a bit of background information about the characters in the story, like Peg Leg Joe, and about the Underground Railroad in general as well as information on some notable abolitionists, like Harriett Tubman. The introduction also gives details about what different sections of the song mean; for example, the line “when the sun comes back, and the first quail calls” means when it is spring. This introduction provides information that can be integrated very well into a classroom lesson or unit on slavery or the Underground Railroad. The book offers another resource at the end of the book—music for the song. This could also be integrated into the classroom by teaching the students how to sing the song, and even making up a song of their own.

The text is written in lyric form, which enables it to be read in a sing-song manner. This way the reader can make an easy connection between the text and the song that the slaves use to get to freedom. I only got the full meaning and beauty out of the text when I read it slowly; it can not be fully appreciated when read through quickly. When the family finally gets to Peg Leg Joe on the riverbank, I am always so relieved. I get really enthralled in the story, and I think that is because of both the lyrical text and its accompanying pictures.

I loved looking at the expressions on the character’s faces. They accurately convey the fear about what could happen to them as they were running away. I can’t even begin to imagine what must have been going through their heads as they were following the drinking gourd on their way to the north.

Historical fiction was always my favorite type of book to read when I was younger (and still is, judging by the books I’m still drawn to, even as an adult!), and the way the slaves were hidden under the floorboards in the barn at one of the safe houses reminds me of how families hid Jewish people during the Holocaust. I was reminded of Anne Frank, hiding in an office building, and other characters from books I have read in the past. How must they have felt the whole time they were in hiding?