Lesa Cline-Ransome

First sentence: On the ride back from church
every time Charly
trotted faster
or trotted out the way
of a too-big hole in the road
my head fell against
Daddy's soft Sunday shirt
blue as a clear sky
Momma was humming
the hymns to herself
in the back of the wagon
we just finished
singing out loud
in the pews
Riding next to Daddy
listening to Momma
I asked Daddy
What was your momma and daddy like?
and he pulled back
hard on the reins
enough to make Charly start
and lift his head
wondering what Daddy wanted
Charly knew there wasn't no need
for Daddy to be pulling
in the middle of his trotting
in the middle of the road
when he knew just where he was going
Daddy heard my asking
but didn't answer straitaway...

Premise/plot: Historical verse novel written for middle grade about the pioneer life--that essentially describes this one. Set circa 1879, this one follows a wagon train of black pioneers or homesteaders. All are heading west for a chance to improve upon their lives--a chance to own their own land and embrace more freedom, to break with their pasts. There are three points of view.

My thoughts: Verse novels can be hit or miss for me. I sometimes do enjoy verse novels, but sometimes I'm more why is this written in verse??? why wouldn't prose be a better fit???? Personally--and this is completely subjective--I think prose would have worked better for me.

Pioneer life was DIFFICULT. This book doesn't shy away from death, death, death, and more death.

I was slightly bothered by the lack of punctuation throughout the novel. I think you can tell that from the first sentence.… (més)

1. Summary: As she climbs aboard the New York bound Silver Meteor train, Ruth Ellen embarks upon a journey toward a new life up North-- one she can't begin to imagine. Stop by stop, the perceptive young narrator tells her journey in poems, leaving behind the cotton fields and distant Blue Ridge mountains.

Each leg of the trip brings new revelations as scenes out the window of folks working in fields give way to the Delaware River, the curtain that separates the colored car is removed, and glimpses of the freedom and opportunity the family hopes to find come into view. As they travel, Ruth Ellen reads from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, reflecting on how her journey mirrors her own-- until finally the train arrives at its last stop, New York's Penn Station, and the family heads out into a night filled with bright lights, glimmering stars, and new possibility.
2. From the award-winning creators of Before She Was Harriet and Finding Langston
3. Bold and textured mixed-media illustrations by James E. Ransome
4. Family activity sheet: https://www.lewismuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Overground-Railroad-Activ...
5. Lesson plan and Google activities: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Overground-Railroad-by-Lesa-Cline-Ra...
6. Lapbook and activities: https://learnincolor.com/overground-railroad-lapbook-and-activities.html
7. Recommended for those seeking a children's book on the Great Migration… (més)