There were 2 things about this beautiful picture book that made me want to give it 10 out of 5:
1. The story is told entirely by poems, and the poems were perfect and could be read by themselves or as part of the story.
2. I don't remember seeing artwork like this but using print in a collage to create the pictures made them come alive.
This is also just a great introduction to Harriet Tubman's life.

The text of "Force of Nature" is well suited to convey the emotion, drive, and commitment of Harriet Tubman and her extraordinary life. I am impressed with the illustrations, using cut paper to show a good deal of action and feeling. I'm not sure how easily young readers will pick up the story without a bit of background on Harriet Tubman, but for those who at least know her name and a few points of her story, this is a great way to experience it.

This is a beautiful biography of Harriet Tubman, told with tenderness, as if she were a dear friend. What really blew me away were the amazing illustrations. The author used collage, and carefully depicted young Minty, through her transformation to Harriet, engineer of the Underground Railroad. As a Black female author, she understood the intricacies of Harriet’s natural hair in the environment in which she grew up. Through collage, she used found objects and paper material to depict the clothing, and as stated in the afterword, Ms. Brewer used newspaper for clothing because the subject of slavery and it’s dangers that are far-reaching is and always will be important news.
I loved the way she described working with family and friends to create the naturescapes, and to put it all together with photoshop and digitalization for book printing.
I hope this wins a Caldecott—it is meaningful, important, and visually stunning.

My daughter and I loved learning about one of my heroes in verse! The illustrations are stunning as well (also by the author).

An informative overview of the life of Harriet Tubman written in poems. Illustrated with collage, this book will appeal to young readers.

This book is amazing. It is a collection of poems to tell the life of Harriet Tubman. The illustrations are truly a work of art, made mostly from collage. I think readers of all ages could benefit from this book. I could see this being used in a classroom that is learning about slavery for sure. I would likely recommend for this for grades 5-8, but I could even see high school students reading and analyzing these poems. Truly well done.

Telling the story of Harriet Tubman through poetry and collage, this book is thoughtfully crafted and emotionally rendered. The author clearly spent quiet a bit of time and energy researching Harriet’s life, community, and environment. I loved the illustrations, which conveyed an incredible amount of motion and emotion, but I found the rhythm and rhyme of the poetry a bit clunky and forced at times.

A lovely homage to Harriet Tubman that is both unique and informational. The illustrations are downright GORGEOUS in this omg!!

Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature by Caroline Brewer

This is a beautiful telling of the story of Harriet Tubman. I learned a lot from reading this story about her I did not know.
She was a strong woman and faced so many challenges in her life but still went on to do the Underground Railroad.
I did not know she was married and her husband did not go with her when she was seeking her freedom.
I really can't imagine going through what she went through in this day and age.
The trials and tribulations of slavery were well told in beautiful poetry.
The illustrations added to the poetry and seemed to fit right in with it.
I like the map and photos at the back of the book. It is nice to see photos of her.
I recommend this book for the school library.

Harriet Tubman is one of my heroes. So much strength and courage in such a tiny package. This biography, written in poetry, is lovely, as are the illustrations. As someone who knows a healthy bit about her, it was a good read. The very nature of this kind of book limits what it can teach and how much it can share. I think it could potentially be confusing for its intended audience.