Leaving behind Big Mama, loving relatives, and the familiar red soil and cotton fields of Alabama, Jessie and her family are going north to Nebraska. They are pioneers searching for a better life, one with decent schools and jobs. But traveling through the segregated South is difficult for an African American family in the 1960s. With most public places reserved for « whites only, » where will they stop to get gas and food?
The illustrations, rich with warm colours and paint strokes, really make this book stand out. The story is a wonderful tale of growing up black in during the 1960s in southern United States. This book coul dbe used as a started point to a discussion about US history or race relations. The CD was pretty plain, I wished it would have included some sound effects like the sound of tires against the pavement, the « taw-whomp » of Big Mama chruning the butter, or the sound of crickets singing in a deep dark night, half-way through the road-trip. That said, the narration by the actor was great. I love historical everyday stories, and « Going north » is one of them. Very poetic.
Author(s) / illustrator(s) : Janice N. Harrington & Jerome Lagarrigue
Publishing company: Melanie Kroupa Books
Publication: 2004
ISBN: 0374326819
Target audience: 6 to 8 years old.
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Mistikrak ! 