Gary D. Schmidt continues to impress me. His range is impressive, and his ability to change voices to represent the unique characters he draws takes my breath away. 

The man who wrote this:

“I love the sound of a brand-new bottle of coke when you pry the lid off and it starts to fizz. Whenever I hear that sound, I think of roses, and of sitting together with someone you care about and of Romeo and Juliet waking up somewhere and saying to each other, weren’t we jerks? And then having all that be over. That’s what I think of when I hear the sound of a brand-new bottle of Coke being opened” – The Wednesday Wars

Also wrote this:

“‘Rabbi,’ said Feivel, ‘it is written in the Torah that the children of Israel will  always and forever be God’s servants. Is this how one treats a servant? Even the very worst of servants? And now that He has scattered us all across the lands, He does not even allow us to be His servants. He does not allow those whom we love to live. He does not even allow us to live. That is my suit.’” – Mara’s Stories

And this:

“Lizzie Bright Griffin, do you ever wish the world would just go ahead and swallow you whole?”
“Sometimes I do,” she said, and then smiled. “But sometimes I figure I should just go ahead and swallow it.”  ― Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Schmidt seemingly effortlessly switches in and out of the voices of his characters without missing a beat. Whether he is writing the thoughts and language of a twelve-year-old boy in the American 1960s, or the complaints of a German Jew running from the Nazis, or the self-assured confidence of a Black American girl of the early 1900s, each character sounds authentic and beautifully right. Just as importantly, Schmidt never loses his ability to convey complex and powerful ideas through the vernacular of his protagonists. 

Knowing that full well, I was surprised nonetheless by his incredible voice change in the hauntingly beautiful picture book biography of Sojourner Truth, So Tall Within. This gripping story reads like epic poetry told through the voice of a Black American slave. He demands that we see her strength and her courage through her commanding voice and the undulating rhythm with which the story is told. 

“In Slavery Time, when Happiness was a dream never coming true, Isabella was put to work. ‘Now the war begun,’ she thought. First she worked for Mr. Nealy, who figured she didn’t need shoes in wintertime. Two years later, she worked for Mr. Schryver, who had her carry fish and hoe corn and dig roots and tote gallons of dark molasses. A year and a half after that, she worked for Mr. Dumont, who bragged that Isabella could ‘do a good family’s washing in the night, and be ready in the morning to go into the field.’ And she did, night after night, day after day, night after night, day after day, night after night, day after day.” – So Tall Within

I discovered that this book was available on Audible. Because my ears work better than my eyes, I began this journey with the audiobook. It was incredible! I listened twice. The narrator is absolute perfection, and when I reached for the picture book, her voice remained in my head and helped me to read this story as it should be. This allowed me to really pause and linger over the illustration by David Minter. Listening to my memory of the narrator, I was able to really see the pictures and know that they were very good. 

Sojourner Truth’s story is seasoned with a great deal of struggle and sadness. Schmidt, however, tells us those things in such a way that the young reader is not required to dwell on the pain nor be exposed to something that they aren’t really ready for yet. Those of us who know more will see and know more. And, I think that is just as it should be. Schmidt makes this story accessible to readers of a wide range of ages without harming their innocence. 

I think this story is a must-read for most of us. Mamas may wish to preview the picture book before sharing it with the littlest readers. The illustration conveys a lot of emotion and may not be the best fit for our more tender souls. 

You can find this beautiful book at Amazon and on Audible. We have reviewed a great number of Mr. Schmidt’s books and we have an author page for him, here.