Coming on Home Soon

by Jacqueline Woodson (Author) E B Lewis (Illustrator)

Coming on Home Soon
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Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
cms Common Sense Media Review
Ada Ruth's mama must go away to Chicago to work, leaving Ada Ruth and Grandma behind. During World War II, women are needed to fill the men's jobs. Every day Ada Ruth and Grandma wait, watching for the letter that says Mama will be coming home soon.
cms Common Sense Media Review
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Publishers Weekly

Starred Review
The creators of The Other Side set this quietly stirring tale during an unspecified wartime (though details in the paintings suggest WWII). Ada Ruth's mother packs her suitcase in the opening full-bleed painting, explaining to her daughter, "They're hiring colored women in Chicago since all the men are off fighting in the war.... I'm gonna head on up there." Staying with her loving grandmother, the forlorn narrator continues to write to her mother, yet receives no response. Ada Ruth takes solace in her grandmother's embraces and encouragement ("Your mama's gonna be coming on home soon") and in the company of a kitten that appears at the door one snowy morning. Woodson's narrative is lyrical and spontaneous; of the kitten, Ada Ruth observes, "It's a slip of a thing. But its softness is big./ And warm as ten quilts on my lap./ Warm as Mama's hands." Lewis's lifelike, earth-toned watercolors deftly convey the sustaining affection and mutual support between Ada Ruth and her grandmother, as well as the girl's simultaneous loneliness. Well placed cameo-shaped portraits of the mother and her activities provide reassurance to readers. The story ends on a positive note: the long-awaited letter from Mama promises "I'll be coming on home soon" and a final, wordless image reveals the woman making her way through the snow to their door. Ages 5-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review
K-Gr 3 -A beautifully written and illustrated story from the creators of The Other Side (Putnam, 2001), set during World War II. Ada Ruth waits for the return of her mother, who left home in search of a job. "They're hiring colored women in Chicago since all the men are off fighting in the war." Perfectly matched words and illustrations masterfully bring to life all the emotions that the girl is experiencing as she, her grandmother, and a stray kitten that has come to stay all try to comfort and console one another. As snow continues to fall, the large watercolor pages are filled with scenes of wistful longing-looking out the window, bringing in firewood, giving the kitten some milk, knitting, listening to news on the radio, and capturing the disappointment when the postman passes without stopping. Finally, a letter arrives and, with it, some much-needed money. The first line of the letter reads, "Tell Ada Ruth I'll be coming on home soon." Now, images convey a warm sense of anticipation. The final painting shows a woman with her back to readers approaching a house] home. A tender, heartfelt story that will touch readers.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

* "Woodson and Lewis tell a moving historical story of longing and separation. [The] period and place are wonderfully specific; the yearning is timeless."—Booklist, starred review

* "Perfectly matched words and illustrations masterfully bring to life all the emotions that the girl is experiencing as she, her grandmother, and a stray kitten that has come to stay all try to comfort and console one another."—School Library Journal, starred review
Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson (www.jacquelinewoodson.com) is the recipient of a 2023 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the 2018 Children's Literature Legacy Award. She was the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, and in 2015, she was named the Young People's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. She received the 2014 National Book Award for her New York Times bestselling memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, which was also a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, the NAACP Image Award, and a Sibert Honor. She wrote the adult books Red at the Bone, a New York Times bestseller, and Another Brooklyn, a 2016 National Book Award finalist. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Jacqueline grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from college with a B.A. in English. She is the author of dozens of award-winning books for young adults, middle graders, and children; among her many accolades, she is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a four-time National Book Award finalist, and a three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner. Her books include Coretta Scott King Award winner Before the Ever After; New York Times bestsellers The Day You Begin and Harbor Me; The Other Side, Each Kindness, Caldecott Honor book Coming On Home Soon; Newbery Honor winners Feathers, Show Way, and After Tupac and D Foster; and Miracle's Boys, which received the LA Times Book Prize and the Coretta Scott King Award. Jacqueline is also a recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement for her contributions to young adult literature and a two-time winner of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780399237485
Lexile Measure
550
Guided Reading Level
L
Publisher
Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication date
October 07, 2004
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV039000 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | General
Library of Congress categories
African Americans
Grandmothers
United States
Separation (Psychology)
Mother and child
World War, 1939-1945
Caldecott Medal
Honor Book 2005 - 2005
Parents Choice Award (Fall) (1998-2007)
Winner 2004 - 2004
Grand Canyon Reader Award
Nominee 2007 - 2007
California Young Reader Medal
Nominee 2007 - 2007
Monarch Award
Nominee 2007 - 2007
North Carolina Children's Book Award
Nominee 2006 - 2006
Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award
Nominee 2007 - 2007
South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award
Nominee 2007 - 2008
Georgia Children's Book Award
Nominee 2009 - 2009
Young Hoosier Book Award
Nominee 2008 - 2008
Beehive Awards
Nominee 2009 - 2009

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