(3) K-3 Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. In this autobiographical story, a little girl and her family leave Oklahoma for a better life in 1948 California. Onomatopoeic language and strong poetic images capture the sights and sounds of the train ride, then of their hopeful new home. Cooper's stippled sepia-hued paintings evoke the majestic setting and the characters' optimism. Thomas's appended note offers more background on her family's westward migration.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Thomas's theme in the book's twelve poems is the varying skin tones of African Americans, shown in Cooper's characteristic dark-grained, luminous illustrations. This collection will encourage African American kids to embrace the skin they're in and, by extension, invite children of all races to enjoy whatever their heritage has made them.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2008

(3) YA This chronicle of Abyssinia Jackson's first twenty years is both heartbreaking and inspirational. Born in an Oklahoma cotton field, Abyssinia starts her life surrounded by a tight-knit African American community. A series of disastrous events, including a tornado and a graphic physical assault, nearly shatter her spirit. This lyrical novel of triumph over adversity definitely deserves a second look.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Annie Lee. One word sums up the narrator's experience at church: exuberance! The rhythmic prose describes a child's watchful observance of her mama's rapture and uninhibited praise-filled response during Sunday worship. Both text and illustrations are abstract (all characters are without facial features), and readers unfamiliar with the tradition will benefit greatly from the author and illustrator's notes.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Brenda Joysmith. With occasionally awkward meter, fourteen poems describe the beauty of African-American hairstyles across generations--from Grandma's wigs to the art of draping with colorful wraps. Pastel illustrations capture different hair textures, including a baby's bald spot, a sculptured 'fro, and hot-comb waves.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) 4-6 Thomas's lyrical poetry explores aspects of the unique relationship between a mother and a daughter. The many moods of the subject matter range liberally among topics from the cradle to the grave. The poems occasionally dip into sentimentality or go for cheap effect, but overall the quality is high in this slight volume whose format, arranged for two voices, invites participation.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Brenda Joysmith. Several traditional songs and three lullabies by the author are accompanied by classic pastels showing parents and children through the ages. There is one misattribution (Avraham Goldfarb's "Raisins and Almonds" is presented as a traditional African-American lullaby) and some awkward page turns. Melodies and guitar chords are given, with full piano accompaniment for one of the new songs.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Holly Berry. Life's milestones--birth, death, baptism, marriage, and rejoicing--are the focus of five connected stories about Baby Rooster, his parents, and their barnyard neighbors. Berry's black-and-white drawings are just right for these tales steeped in southern folk tradition and a strong sense of family. However, overuse of phrases such as "steppity-stepped" and "wiggledy-wiggled" becomes tiresome and distracts from the otherwise lively text.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(4) PS Harper Growing Tree series. Illustrated by Nneka Bennett. Lovely but repetitious portraits of an African-American girl illustrate this short verse on the celebration of self. With lines such as "I was nourished by father sun / He glazed the pottery of my skin" and "I am beautiful by design," the text seems too formal and abstract for the intended preschool audience.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(4) K-3 In lyrical prose that at times obscures its own meaning, Thomas tells the story of a strong African-American woman who, like other former slaves, joined in the 1889 and 1893 land runs to create a life for herself in Oklahoma. Cooper's earth-toned paintings capture the vastness of the land, the immensity of the task, and the fortitude of the woman. An author's note provides more details about the subject.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.