Show Way

Bibliographic Information: Woodson, J. (2005). Show Way. Illus. Hudson Talbott. New York, NY: G.P Putnam’s Sons.

Brief Annotation: The history of J.Woodsons ancestors. It starts off with a girl of age 7 being sold into the slave market, she and the rest of her family to come, make quilts that show the way to freedom. Through time it shows the hardships each generation went through, ending with the present generations and the memories she must keep and stories she has heard and passes down to her children. This book is a historically based on slavery and secret maps made of quilts.

Genre: Historical fiction, Picture book

Grade Level: 2-6

Readers who will like this: Children learning about slavery; Children who are learning about slavery; Children who are interested in secret messages; Children who can relate to the stories being passed down in this book

Response/Rating: 3; this book was an excellent way to tell a families history of slavery. While it does not go in depth on the repercussions of slavery it does paint a base picture of what people of color have had to suffer through the years. The illustrations in this book are amazing and use a number of mediums from paint to typed words to drawings.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Do you know how you would send a secret message in a quilt? In what ways?