From the early 1900s to the 1970s, 6 million African Americans left the southern United States and moved to the north, searching for a better life.
Author Jacqueline Woodson’s relatives participated in this exodus, now known as the Great Migration.
In this fictional children’s picture book, a young girl skips using a rope she finds near her South Carolina home. Years later, the rope is used to tie household belongings on top of a car as the girl, now a young woman, drives with her husband and their child to their new home in New York City. There the rope is used to hang up diapers, pull a toy duck, jump rope with new friends, and more. When a new generation is born, the rope is a vital link to the past.
Vivid, energetic illustrations portray a family and community that loves, laughs, works, and flourishes in a context of justice and opportunity for all. (Nancy Paulsen Books)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.
