"I'm gonna run away," the sad, angry Minty tells her mother after the Missus throws her rag doll into the fire. Later, after she is beaten by the overseer, the young girl who is a slave on a Maryland plantation tells her parents once again that she will flee. Realizing their daughter's determination, they subtly but deliberately begin to show her things she will need to know to survive: how to find her way to north by moss on trees and one shining star; how to swim a river; how to find food in the forest. Alan Schroeder's moving story never strays from what is possible in this fictional biography of the life of young Harriet Tubman. Jerry Pinkney's full-color paintings are rendered in pencil, colored pencil and watercolor. Light and dark dance across the pages of this 11 3/4 x 9 3/4" book as he skillfully and beautifully brings his vision of Minty's story to life. Winner, 1996 CCBC Coretta Scott King Award Discussion: Illustrator (Ages 7-10)