This is the book that did it for me.  I was in fourth grade and I read words well, but I didn’t pay attention while reading so my comprehension was less than impressive.  We went to library every week and the miniscule library at my Catholic school did not excite me.  But I remember coming along Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman by Dorothy Sterling.

I had this unique feeling of not wanting to put the book down as I read page after page of this amazing woman. Prior to reading this story, I don’t recall learning much about the underground railroad.  But this stuck and it made me want to read more.  (A good book can have a greater power than a good teacher.  Sorry to say, but true.) The excitement for reading did not continue, even though I volunteered regularly at the local public library.  But this planted a little seed in me that has grown, many years later, into an enjoyment for reading historical and realistic fiction, and now an aspiration to write one of my own.

Here’s to you, Dorothy Sterling.  Thank you for inadvertently planting that seed.

Hmm, I think it is time to read that story again! Time to head to the library 🙂

Which one did it for you?