We were one family among the many thousands. Mama and Daddy leaving home, coming to the city, with their hopes and their courage, their dreams and their children, to make a better life.
When Eloise Greenfield was four months old, her family moved from their home in Parmele, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C.
Before Jan Spivey Gilchrist was born, her mother moved from Arkansas and her father moved from Mississippi. Both settled in Chicago, Illinois. Though none of them knew it at the time, they had all become part of the Great Migration.
In this collection of poems and collage artwork, award winners Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist gracefully depict the experiences of families like their own, who found the courage to leave their homes behind and make new lives for themselves elsewhere.
--Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the paperback edition. We were one family among the many thousands. Mama and Daddy leaving home, coming to the city, with their hopes and their courage, their dreams and their children, to make a better life.
When Eloise Greenfield was four months old, her family moved from their home in Parmele, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C.
Before Jan Spivey Gilchrist was born, her mother moved from Arkansas and her father moved from Mississippi. Both settled in Chicago, Illinois. Though none of them knew it at the time, they had all become part of the Great Migration.
In this collection of poems and collage artwork, award winners Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist gracefully depict the experiences of families like their own, who found the courage to leave their homes behind and make new lives for themselves elsewhere.
--This text refers to the paperback edition. *Starred Review* Between 1915 and 1930, more than a million African Americans left their homes in the South and moved to the North, says Greenfield in an introduction to this stirring collection of poems that honors those who took part in the Great Migration, including the poet herself. Each spread looks at a different stage in the journey, beginning with the uprooting: �Saying goodbye to the land / puts a pain on my heart,� says a farmer. The beat in Greenfield�s free-verse poetry amplifies the feeling of momentum, from the way news travels��They thought about it, talked about it, / spread the word��to the rhythm of the train that is felt even in the northbound passengers� questions, �Will I make a good life / for my family, / for myself? / The wheels are singing, / �Yes, you will, / you will, you will!� / I hope they�re right. / I think they�re right. / I know they�re right.� Greatly enhancing the impact of the words, Gilchrist�s moving mixed-media collages layer drawings, maps, and color-washed archival images that have the slightly distorted look of photocopies, giving some of the figures an almost ghostly, translucent appearance. Together, the immediate words, striking images, and Greenfield�s personal story create a powerful, haunting view of a pivotal moment in U.S. history even as they show the universal challenges of leaving home behind and starting a new life. A bibliography concludes. Grades 2-4. --Gillian Engberg --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Praise for Brothers & Sisters:“Timeless…clear and universal. Everyone can relate to the poems’ affection, frustration, laughter, jealousy, and family pride, as well as the love that always shines through.” (ALA Booklist )
Praise for Brothers & Sisters: “These are the sweetest poems for kids and families of all kinds.” (Charlotte Observer )
Praise for Brothers & Sisters: “Together their picture book celebrates how brothers get along with brothers, sisters with sisters, and various other combinations.” (Horn Book Magazine )
Praise for Brothers & Sisters: “A feel-good collection, equally suited to reading alone or aloud.” (Kirkus Reviews )
Praise for Brothers & Sisters: “Greenfield’s poetic observations and commentaries succinctly capture siblings at various ages and stages. The illustrator is equally as skillful. This book needs to be shared in classrooms, in storytimes, and especially within families.” (School Library Journal )
Praise for The Friendly Four:“Fun for reading aloud.” (ALA Booklist )
Praise for The Friendly Four: “Idealistic and nostalgic...perfect for classroom readers’ theater or as a way for a young child to share reading with an older sibling or parent.” (The Horn Book )
Praise for The Friendly Four: “A lively tribute to children’s imagination as well as an inviting introduction to free verse.” (Kirkus Reviews )
Praise for The Friendly Four: “Has an open accessibility, with its big print and visually inviting pages, and an upbeat warmth.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books )
Praise for In the Land of Words:“[a] joy-filled, right-on tribute to wordsmithing in all its forms.” (Kirkus Reviews )
Praise for For the Love of the Game:“This book will set children soaring.” (ALA Booklist )
Praise for For the Love of the Game: “A powerful blending of words and pictures that delivers a message that needs to be heard by children.” (School Library Journal )
Praise for Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems:“Abounds with that special tenderness surrounding the everyday experiences in a child’s life. These poems beg to be read aloud.” (Boston Globe ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Eloise Greenfield is the author of an illustrious list of books for young people, including The Friendly Four, a Texas 2x2 Reading List book; In the Land of Words, an NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts; and How They Got Over: African Americans and the Call of the Sea, winner of a Bank Street Children's Book Award—all illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. She is a recipient of the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award; the Coretta Scott King Author Award; the Award of Excellence from the Washington, D.C., branch of the National Writing Project; the Milner Award; the Hope S. Dean Award from the Foundation for Children's Literature; and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Ms. Greenfield lives in Washington, D.C.
Jan Spivey Gilchrist illustrated the Coretta Scott King Award Book Nathaniel Talking, the Coretta Scott King Honor Book Night on Neighborhood Street, and Me & Neesie, all written by Eloise Greenfield. She wrote and co-illustrated My America with Ashley Bryan, which was named a Parents' Choice Recommended Award winner. An inductee into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, Ms. Gilchrist received an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College and a doctoral degree in English from Madison University. She lives near Chicago, Illinois.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. 
![The Great Migration: Journey to the North by [Eloise Greenfield, Jan Spivey Gilchrist]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51smgCvSOBL._SX260_.jpg)
