21. Coming on Home Soon

 21. Coming On Home Soon

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Illustrator: E.B. Lewis

G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004

29 pages

 Historical Fiction

          I chose this book because the mother in this story reminded me of my mother who would willingly pick up as many jobs necessary to provide for me and my siblings. At one time she worked three different jobs just so we could do the extra curricular activities we desired to participate in during school. The story is about a little girl named Ada Ruth whose mother is leaving the family to go work during wartime while the men are away fighting. The grandmother is left to care for Ada and daily they would wait for a letter from momma saying she was coming home. Finally one day a letter arrived and the letter said that momma would be coming on home soon.

          The illustrations in this book are done in watercolor on Arches paper. The illustrator uses vignettes throughout the story to bring the mood into reality. The colors throughout are warm except for the use of negative space that depicts the snow and the cold climate. In the middle of the story an illustration is used to show that time has passed that uses the space of two pages and the font changes and the text is written in formal style throughout the book. This book has no honors or rewards.

         This book would be appropriate for thrid through fifth grade students in a classroom. This book could be used in a social studies lesson to discuss wartime. The book is a great story of sadness, missing loved one, and most of all hope in the end. This book could also be used for character development to help young girls understand the importance of women in our society especially during wartime. This story could be used to show responsability to our country for all staudents. I think this story showed a great relationship of a grandmother and grandchild who leaned on eachother during a hard time and pulled through the season of life and found hope and strength in eachother. The story is very heartwarming and would be one I will add to me classroom.