This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration

Woodson's (Each Kindness) gentle, unpretentious writing and Ransome's eloquent artwork breathe life into this story of a close-knit African-American family and their pursuit of a better life. The rope of the title is used over and over, tying luggage to the family station wagon when they leave South Carolina, airing diapers outside their new Brooklyn apartment, serving as a jump rope for the narrator's mother as a girl, then securing boxes as she later goes off to college. Ransome (Light in the Darkness) pays close attention to the details of life in 1970s and '80s Brooklyn, from the posters on a bedroom wall and silverware drying by the sink to the dubious expressions of the neighborhood preteens as they survey the new girl. The rope that unites the family then passes to a new generation, as the narrator learns how to jump rope, "right here in Brooklyn, just last Friday night." The chronicle of a homely object in an age of disposables and the sense of place Woodson and Ransome evoke make this an especially strong and vibrant fictive memoir. Ages 5-8. Author's agent: Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. (Aug.)

K-Gr 3--A utilitarian rope-now a toy, now a clothesline, now a fastening cord-ties together this lyrical multigenerational story of one family's experience leaving the South for greater opportunities up North. Woodson's text and Ransome's warm, lived-in oils begin in the sweet expanse of South Carolina, the rich rural landscape contrasted with the busy, populous images of the family's new stone-and-concrete neighborhood in Brooklyn. Every page turn reveals the titular phrase again, but the repetition does not weary as the family thrives and evolves in great leaps and short steps. Significant episodes like the arrival of a baby or the beginning of college unfold in meaningful text and blend with fine splashes of humor; one surprisingly dynamic and evocative spread shows a teenager's room-Prince poster on the wall, Michael Jackson albums scattered on the bed-and the shadow of a mischievous younger brother dashing down the hallway with the rope, needed for "some crazy game that little boys play." An author's note offers a brief familial history as well as a few lines about the Great Migration and supports the text as a resounding affirmation of the journey made by more than six million African Americans in search of change. With characteristic grace and a knack for the right detail, Woodson and Ransome have provided a pleasing portrait of one loving family in the midst of a movement.--Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Library, NY