Grandma's General Store - The Ark [Hardcover]

Dorothy Carter (Author), Thomas B. Allen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Faith, courage, and an indomitable grandmother

When Prince and Pearl's father loses his job at the sawmill, he and their mother head north to make a better life for themselves and their children. They leave Prince and Pearl in Florida helping their grandma run her small general store she calls "the Ark," a haven for all the hardworking people in their small black community. These are the years of the Great
Depression, Jim Crow laws rule the town, and the Ku Klux Klan flaunts its power. Amid all the uncertainties, Prince and Pearl learn that they can depend on their grandma to protect them through life's many storms.

Tender charcoal drawings combined with this hopeful story warmly portray the importance of trust, patience, and the bonds of family in the face of adversity.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5–Seven-year-old-Prince and five-year-old Pearl are left to live with their grandmother in a small segregated Florida town after their parents go up north to look for work. In the meantime, Grandma does her best to take care of the children as they struggle to make ends meet during the 1930s. Carter admirably attempts to show a grandmother's strength as she nurtures, loves, and guides her grandchildren who miss their parents and live with the danger and uncertainty of segregation and Jim Crow laws. Despite the serious subject matter, the story is told through the voice and sensibilities of a young child. As such, the sentences are extremely simple; situations seem superficial, with abrupt dialogue and uneven transitions; and the pace is slow. Despite Allen's many expressive black-and-white illustrations, this easy chapter book fails to capture the imagination.–Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. When Daddy loses his job at the sawmill, he and Mama go up north to find work and establish a new home in Philadelphia. Pearl and her younger brother Prince stay with Grandma in Florida, where Jim Crow laws rule and Klansmen riding up to Grandma's general store bring fear to this small, close-knit black community. On an ironic note, after the riders leave, they draw a groan from the Grand Wizard's washerwoman: "Lord, I'm the one got to wash all those filthy robes again." During the long months of waiting, Pearl and Prince learn a thing or two about their grandparents and about how life in the North will be different for their family. The unfairness of segregation emerges in examples that young readers can readily understand, and the value of community comes through clearly. Shaded pencil drawings sensitively illustrate the book. Told in first person from Pearl's point of view, the story provides a good introduction to African American life in the South during the Depression. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (February 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374327661
• ISBN-13: 978-0374327668
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #873,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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