Author: Sherley Anne Williams
Illustrator: Carole Byard
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: Caldecott Honor Award
Grade level: K-2
This is a story about working on a cotton field from a child's perspective. It is very cold outside and the girl and her family patiently wait for the sun to come out. The girl works on the field by helping her mother pile the cotton. After they have worked hard, the mother brings lunch for everyone. The family returns to work and continues to work very hard. When it is time to go home, a bus picks them up and takes them home where they sleep. In the morning the routine starts again.
The illustrations in this story are very realistic, but can still appear to young readers. The illustrator uses soft colors to set the tone of the story.
Students can use this story to make history more real. By experiencing the lifestyle of a child worker through the book, they can better understand the hardships of families during this time. Children can also discuss the multicultural aspects of the story and of the time period, such as slavery.
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