It is August, and family members from far and wide travel across the wooden bridge at Pigeon Creek to gather with their kin in a special yearly reunion, where the children learn about their roots and are able to nurture a sense of belonging from older generations.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Long on atmosphere though short on action, this picture book by a first-time author describes how, every August, the members of an extended African American family head Down Home, "where the dirt is red, the sky is blue, and berries and wild grapes are just waiting on you." Everyone assembles for the Big Meeting, a long church service followed by a picnic. Though the young narrator's wandering description of the service may please those already familiar with similar rituals, it doesn't make for an especially compelling story for most picture-book readers. Yet Woodtor emits a satisfying sense of the importance of family and tradition and evokes some memorable images, among them Aunt Hester's response to misbehaving in church: "If we start giggling at Ol' Man Kinzie who always prays too long, Aunt Hester will give us a good eyeball beating and a tap on the head with her fan." The hazy mood continues into Johnson's (Seminole Diary) muted, deliberately unpolished illustrations, etchings and aquatints with watercolors and colored pencils. She, too, captures the good feeling among the congregation and the tranquility of the setting, but fails to add much in the way of energy. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3?It's Homecoming Weekend at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church in the little southern town of Oakey Streak, and folks are gathering from all over for the annual event. The narrator and her brother are staying with their grandparents and reveling in a whole week's freedom to run barefoot, catch minnows, and listen to Grandpa's ghost stories. When the time comes for the Big Meeting, they dress in their best and go off to church where their aunt stops any misbehavior with a tap of her fan. After the service, the congregation pours outdoors, greeting old friends and relatives, enjoying sumptuous home cooking, remembering those in the graveyard, and appreciating life's blessings. This wonderfully happy occasion is celebrated joyously in text and illustration. The writing is lively, expressive, and authentic. The full-page pictures?etchings and aquatints with watercolor and colored pencils?are done in an effectively simple, almost sketchy technique, yet each person has great individuality. The colors are softly muted and summery, and the cars with toothy grilles indicate that the setting is the 1950s. Although specifically African American in content, this portrayal of returning to one's roots is universal.?Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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