Love Twelve Miles Long

K-Gr 2--As a young child, Frederick Douglass was separated from his mother and sent to live on another plantation. From this slight piece of history, Armand weaves a story that illuminates a mother's love and amplifies the power of the human spirit. As historical fiction, the freedom exists to speculate on what Harriet Bailey would be thinking as, after working in the fields all day, she walks 12 miles at night to see her son. Harriet and Frederick go over the miles like a mantra: forgetting, remembering, listening, looking up and seeing, wondering, praying, singing, smiling, giving thanks, hoping, dreaming, and loving. Harriet shares her life with Frederick as she explains the importance of each mile. Without frames or white space, the spreads are completely infused with deep colors. Readers are in the night with Harriet and Frederick, almost as if nothing exists outside of their warmth. While the visual images are effective, the small font sometimes makes the text difficult to read. Although Harriet probably would not have had permission to leave her own plantation, this account is not about escape, tracking dogs, or slave hunters. As an ode to the love a mother has for her son, it is sweetly successful.--Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Inspired by the childhood of Frederick Douglass, Armands debut reveals a poignant conversation between young Frederick and his mother, paired with Bootmans arresting and emotive paintings. Fredericks mother works long days as a slave in the cornfields, and the boy lives on another plantation; the story takes place on a rare special night, when Mama walks the 12 miles between their residences to visit her son, who listens eagerly as she recalls her journey. She devotes each mile to a different pastime: the first mile is for forgetting how tired she is, the second is for remembering everything about her son, the third is for listening to the sounds of the night, and so on. Armands narrative smoothly transitions between each of Mamas preoccupations: I pray that one day we will all be free. And all that praying makes me feel like singing. Bootman (A Storm Called Katrina) deftly uses candlelight and moonlight to give his art a lovely iridescence, and presents intimate portraits of mother and son. A brief afterword provides additional background on Douglass and his mother. Ages 6 11. (Nov.) Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.