BIBLOGRAPHY
Woodson, Jacqueline and Talbott, Hudson. 2005. SHOW WAY. New York:G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN: 0-399-23749-6
PLOT SUMMARY
The story starts in the South of the United States during slavery. It talks about a little girl being sold away when she was just seven. She learns to sew and the quilt squares she sews becomes a way to “show” others the way to freedom. It goes on to show that the little girl grew up and had a little girl, Mathis May, who learned to sew and was also sold at age seven. Mathis May then sews quilts to “show the way” and clothes for the whites and slaves. She then has a little girl, that history lost her name, and when grown has a little girl named Soonie. Soonie learned to sew and grew up right after the Civil War in the 1860’s. Her family were sharecroppers. Soonie learned to sew the quilt squares also and others remembers the way. Soonie then had Georgiana who grew up to be a teacher and she had Caroline and Ann. These girls faced the Civil rights movement and segregation. The grow up and Ann has Jacqueline. Jacqueline learns to sew the quilt patches also and has a girl named Toshi. Toshi is told her family story by her mother and by the quilts.
The illustrations support the storyline. There are not any “spoken” parts of the characters it is just a story of their lives.
Woodson, Jacqueline and Talbott, Hudson. 2005. SHOW WAY. New York:G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN: 0-399-23749-6
PLOT SUMMARY
The story starts in the South of the United States during slavery. It talks about a little girl being sold away when she was just seven. She learns to sew and the quilt squares she sews becomes a way to “show” others the way to freedom. It goes on to show that the little girl grew up and had a little girl, Mathis May, who learned to sew and was also sold at age seven. Mathis May then sews quilts to “show the way” and clothes for the whites and slaves. She then has a little girl, that history lost her name, and when grown has a little girl named Soonie. Soonie learned to sew and grew up right after the Civil War in the 1860’s. Her family were sharecroppers. Soonie learned to sew the quilt squares also and others remembers the way. Soonie then had Georgiana who grew up to be a teacher and she had Caroline and Ann. These girls faced the Civil rights movement and segregation. The grow up and Ann has Jacqueline. Jacqueline learns to sew the quilt patches also and has a girl named Toshi. Toshi is told her family story by her mother and by the quilts.
The illustrations support the storyline. There are not any “spoken” parts of the characters it is just a story of their lives.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
I enjoyed this book because it showed a chronological progression of a family line and how they interacted with slavery, war, independence, segregation, civil rights and true freedom. Sometimes the spoken words of the characters can muddle the story. This story had a clean and direct message of showing the way and preserving the family history. The story also had very relevant illustrations showing the conditions and tradtions of the slaves at that time period. Seeing how one family grew through the generations of slavery, share cropping, civil rights, segregation and then today's society was moving. The family never gave up even under painful circumstances.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Newbery Honor Book
Publisher’s Weekly “Talbott uses the quilt motif in rousing ways, piecing together quotes or news items for a pair of spreads about one generation "walking in a line to change the laws" as well as in softly quilted patterns that tie together the love of a child, a theme throughout this elegantly designed volume.”
Children’s Literature, Susie Wilde-“This story sets up a pattern of how fabric, tales, and familial love thread through Woodson's family tree, becoming "show ways" that first guide slaves to freedom and later become symbols of how each generation found courage to live brave, artistic, full lives.”
School Library Journal “An outstanding tribute, perfectly executed in terms of text, design, and illustration.”
Kirkus Reviews “In this beautiful volume, quilts are the connecting threads of the generations, from Soonie's great-grandmother, sold away from her Virginia home as a girl of seven, to Soonie's great-great-granddaughter Toshi, Woodson's daughter.”
CONNECTIONS
This is an interesting way to tell a family history. One could tie this to a multitude of units of study: family, slavery, freedom, underground railroad, quilts and their meanings.
Here are some other resources that follow the same subject matter.
Deborah Hopkinson's Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (1993) ISBN-13: 9780679874720
Deborah Hopkinson’s Under the Quilt of Night (2001) ISBN-13: 9780689877001
Doreen Rappaport's Freedom River (2000) ISBN-13: 9780786803507
Book cover image from Barnes & Noble.
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