The story of one family's journey north during the Great Migration
starts with a little girl in South Carolina who finds a rope under a
tree one summer. She has no idea the rope will become part of her
family's history. But for three generations, that rope is passed down,
used for everything from jump rope games to tying suitcases onto a car
for the big move north to New York City, and even for a family reunion
where that first little girl is now a grandmother.
Newbery Honor-winning author Jacqueline Woodson and Coretta Scott King
Award-winning illustrator James Ransome use the rope to frame a
thoughtful and moving story as readers follow the little girl's journey.
During the time of the Great Migration, millions of African American
families relocated from the South, seeking better opportunities. With
grace and poignancy, Woodson's lilting storytelling and Ransome's
masterful oil paintings of country and city life tell a rich story of a
family adapting to change as they hold on to the past and embrace the
future.