Awards

• Commended for Coretta Scott King Award (Author) 2025
• Commended for Newbery Medal (Children's) 2025

Overview

Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free--or cost them everything they have--in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement. 1879, Mississippi. Young dreamer Lettie may have her head in the stars, but her body is on a covered wagon heading westward. Her father, Thomas, promises that Nebraska will be everything the family needs: an opportunity to claim the independence they've strived for over generations on their very own plot of land. But Thomas' hopes--and mouth--are bigger than his ability to follow through. With few supplies and even less money, the only thing that feels certain is danger. Right after the war ended/and we were free/we believed/all of us did/that couldn't nothing hurt us/the way master had when we were slaves/Couldn't no one tell us/how to live/how to die. Lettie, her mother, Sylvia, and young teacher Philomena are free from slavery--but bound by poverty, access to opportunity, and patriarchal social structures. Will these women survive the hardships of their journey? And as Thomas' desire for control overpowers his common sense, will they truly be free once they get there? Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author Lesa Cline-Ransome's striking verse masterfully portrays an underrepresented historical era. Tackling powerful themes of autonomy and Black self-emancipation, Cline-Ransome offers readers an intimate look into the lives of three women and an expansive portrait of generations striving for their promised freedom. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

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9798228246553

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Author Information

Lesa Cline-Ransome is an award-winning author and editor who has written more than ten picture books for children, including two ALA Notable books. A graduate of the Pratt Institute, she holds a Master's degree in early childhood and elementary education from New York University. Janina Edwards, an Earphone Award-winning narrator, is a graduate of the acting program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Emana Rachelle is a New York City-based stage, screen, and voice-over actress with more than ten years of experience as a standup comedian. A proud member of both SAG-AFTRA and AEA, she has an MFA from West Virginia University, where she served as a W. E. B. DuBois Graduate Fellow, and a BFA from NYU Tisch. She also trained at The British American Dramatic Academy. She has narrated audiobooks in a wide variety of genres, including YA, fantasy, science fiction, MOCAP, and romance.

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