Leaving Gee's Bend [Hardcover]

Irene Latham (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 7, 2010 | Age Range: 10 and up | Lexile Measure: 700L (What's this?)

Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but she can still put in a good stitch. Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things go wrong.

But when Mama goes into labor early and gets deathly ill, it seems like even quilting won?t help. That?s when Ludelphia decides to do something drastic?leave Gee?s Bend for the very first time. Mama needs medicine that can only be found miles away in Camden. But that doesn?t stop Ludelphia. She just puts one foot in front of the other.

What ensues is a wonderful, riveting and sometimes dangerous adventure. Ludelphia weathers each challenge in a way that would make her mother proud, and ends up saving the day for her entire town.

Set in 1932 and inspired by the rich quilting history of Gee?s Bend, Alabama, Leaving Gee?s Bend is a delightful, satisfying story of a young girl facing a brave new world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—Blind in one eye and shouldering a fair share of work as part of a family of sharecroppers, 10-year-old Ludelphia Bennett is no stranger to hardship or determination. Though her small town of Gee's Bend is geographically isolated by the Alabama River, she sets off on her own to Camden, 40 miles away, to find a doctor for her sick mother. Constant throughout her arduous journey is a stitched-together fabric, and she both physically and mentally chronicles her experiences as she pieces a quilt together. This is the way Ludelphia tells her story, of seeing white people for the first time, of encountering kindness and hate, and it is also the way Latham pays homage to the community spirit that historically fostered a heritage of artisan quilt-makers. While there is a bit of a reliance on coincidence, what shines through is the characterization and sense of place. Rural Alabama of 1932 is brought to life, complete with characters' prejudices and superstitions that are eventually overcome thanks to Ludelphia's indomitable strength. Here is a story that is comforting and warm, just like the quilts that make Gee's Bend famous.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library
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From Booklist

In Gee’s Bend, Alabama in 1932, 10-year-old Ludelphia’s mother nearly dies giving birth. Ludelphia takes off downriver to find a doctor in the town of Camden, 40 miles away, and in her first journey away from her tiny village, she encounters white people for the first time. The hardship of African American sharecropper families is always present in this stirring historical debut, and so is the rich sense of community in rough times, although that community does include sometimes malicious local gossip. Inspired by her mama, Ludelphia stitches together a quilt that tells her story, and that intricate process of quilt making sometimes becomes a too-heavy metaphor. Still, Ludelphia’s voice is authentic and memorable, and Latham captures the tension of her dangerous journey and the racism she encounters when a white, mentally disturbed landowner’s widow takes everything from the sharecroppers as repayment for their debt. In a final note, Latham talks about the history of Gee’s Bend and its rich quilting traditions. Grades 5-8. --Hazel Rochman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; 1 edition (January 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399251790
• ISBN-13: 978-0399251795
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #874,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Irene Latham is a poet and novelist who writes heart-touching tales of unexpected adventure. Her latest novel DON'T FEED THE BOY is about a boy who lives at the zoo. Her debut historical novel LEAVING GEE'S BEND (Putnam, 2010) is set in Alabama during the Great Depression and was named SIBA Book Finalist, Crystal Kite Finalist and earned the 2011 Alabama Library Association Children's Book Award.

A resident of Birmingham, Alabama, since 1984, she has published poems in various books, journals and anthologies, including a full-length collection WHAT CAME BEFORE, which was named Alabama State Poetry Society's Book of the Year and earned a 2008 Independent Publisher's (IPPY) Award. Her latest book of poems THE COLOR OF LOST ROOMS won the Writer's Digest 19th Annual Book Prize for Poetry and includes poems with titles like "Why Hester Prynne Still Loves the Color Red" and "How the Sacagawea River Got Its Name." Her poems for children have appeared in Scholastic's Storyworks and Scope magazines, The Poetry Friday Anthology, compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, and her first full-length collection DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST will be released by Millbrook Press/Lerner in 2014.

Irene loves exploring new places and often uses "research" as an excuse to travel. Her favorite characters in books and real life are those who have the courage to go their own way. Visit her at www.irenelatham.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading for all generations January 17, 2010

By Judith K. Wittmier

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A perfect read for a cold winter's day by the fire or a lovely summer's day in the hammock! Ms Latham has recreated for us a time and social culture we should never forget and thanks to her marvelous Ludelphia, I don't think I ever will. Such love and determination quietly moves in the face of ignorance and discrimination helping us to understand why it is important to remember stories such as this. A must read for my grandchildren and my friends. I'm looking forward to more from Irene Latham.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Ludelphia's living her story quilt April 23, 2010

By Kimberly Bower

Format:Hardcover

Ten-year-old Ludelphia Bennett had never set her bare feet on any dirt outside the small sharecropping community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. There was never a need for it. While her daddy and brother were in the fields pulling cotton, Ludelphia helped her mama around the house. When there wasn't work to be done she pulled the small scraps of cloth and needle from her pocket to work on her story quilt. Stitching the tiny pieces together settled her thoughts and comforted her.

As time passed, Mama needed her help more often. It seemed that the bigger the baby grew inside Mama, the weaker she became. One morning, a series of coughing fits seized Mama and caused her to collapse on the floor. She couldn't get back up. It was all Ludelphia could do to get Mama across the room and onto the cornshuck pallet she used for a bed. It was too soon for the baby to be born but it couldn't be helped. Without a doctor or time to spare, Ludelphia and her neighbor, Etta Mae, did everything they knew how to do.

When her mama's health takes a turn for the worse and her family says there's nothing else they can do, Ludelphia takes matters into her own hands. She decides that her mama's only hope is for her to leave Gee's Bend in search of a real doctor with real medicine. The perilous journey to Camden is over 40 miles long and danger lurks at every turn. Ludelphia's greatest strength is her ability to draw on the words of wisdom her mother instilled in her over the years. Will this inner strength be enough to carry Ludelphia to Camden and back in time to save her mother's life?

Leaving Gee's Bend is set in 1932 in the dirt-poor sharecropping community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. The language used is authentic to the period and people. The characters and landscape are vivid.... The author moves smoothly between Ludelphia's inner thoughts and the world around her. Although the protagonist is only ten, Leaving Gee's Bend will appeal to more than a middle-grade audience and is reminiscent of Wilder's Little House series.

Latham has successfully woven together a novel that reflects the deep faith and inner strength of the people of Gee's Bend and offers a glimpse into the area's rich quilting history. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read! January 9, 2010

By Trina Lester

Format:Hardcover

I really enjoyed the colorful characters in this wonderfully written book. You feel like you have been transported back in time with Ludelphia. She is a simple girl who is driven to do extraordinary things for the family she loves.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a heartwarming story set in a unique place August 13, 2010

By M. Tanenbaum VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Latham was inspired to write this book by an exhibit she visited in New York on the quilts of Gee's Bend, a small rural community in Alabama. After the Civil War, the freed slaves, who worked as sharecroppers, founded an all-black community nearly isolated from the surrounding world. The town's women developed a distinctive quilting style passed down through at least six generations.

Set in 1932, the novel Leaving Gee's Bend incorporates both the inspired quilting heritage of this small community and its isolated geography to tell the story of ten-year old Ludelphia, who may have only one eye that works but still has plenty of chores to do.

Her mama's about to have a baby any minute, and is sick with a terrible cough, but the one thing that can make Mama smile no matter what is stitching quilts. Ludelphia's beginning a quilt all about her own story, intended as a special gift for her Mama. She's always got a needle and bits of cloth in her pocket, and has been sewing since she was a "little bitty girl."

When Mama's baby comes too soon and Mama gets even sicker, Ludelphia decides she has to go fetch a "real doctor" all the way from Camden, even though there's no money to pay him. But to get there, she has to cross the river, and she's got no time to wait for the ferryman. Crossing by herself, she winds up way downstream, where Ludelphia discovers a new world, one with fancy houses for white people with real glass panes, motor cars, delicious food, and even genuine Coca-Cola. But there's danger too, with a crazy white lady who threatens to come to Gee's Bend and take everything they've got. But Ludelphia knows she can't give up, no matter what. She's got to help Mama, and also help her neighbors in Gee's Bend....

While this story is fictional, the author incorporates some real incidents in the history of Gee's Bend into her narrative, which she discusses in an Author's Note. This is a heartwarming novel with a strong female protagonist who takes charge of her own destiny, no matter how frightening. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling story brings the past to life July 9, 2010

By DiscerningReader

Format:Hardcover

Latham's novel was a one-sitting read for me--I couldn't put it down. Ludelphia Bennett is a determined, plucky heroine, and the setting is 100% authentic. The message of the power of family bonds and the love between the characters touched my heart. This would be a fantastic book for any English classroom (all the literary quality without any offensive content to upset school boards or parents) or even for a college American Studies course. Latham kept the momentum of the story going with each chapter; there was never a dull moment. I immediately passed along my copy to a friend, insisting that it is a MUST-READ. Take the time to read this touching, beautiful novel. It will be time well spent.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a wonder July 7, 2010

By R.A. Nelson

Format:Hardcover

Written in simple, yet lyrical prose, Leaving Gee's Bend is a profoundly moving and heartfelt debut novel. I loved Ludelphia as a character and was with her on her whole remarkable journey.

Latham does an amazing job of evoking a bygone era, bringing to life the south in the 1930s and the often heartbreaking, yet deeply rich and vibrant spirit of a sharecropper community and the families who live there.

Latham is a writer to watch, and I will be picking up her next book eagerly.