Show Way

Woodson, J. (2005). Show Way. Illus. Hudson Talbott. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons.

Brief Annotation: This book tells the story of Soonie's grandmother, a slave who was sold to slave-owners in South Carolina. All she had was some thread and some muslin. Her grandmother is cared for by Big Mama, who teaches the slaves at the plantation how to make a Show Way, or a way to sew messages or directions onto a quilt. The story follows the generations of the family, eventually leading to the writer herself!

Genre: Historical fiction, picture book.

Grade Level: Kindergarten through 4.

Readers who will like this: Student's learning about Civil War or slavery. Student's learning about tradition.

Response/Rating (1-4): ****. What a fantastic book. I really enjoyed all the aspects of this book, from the story to the illustrations. It was so different from anything I've read before. I was really impressed by the author's ability to create an intricate story that could still be easily understood by students of a younger age.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Does your family have any traditions? Why are these important?

Reading Strategy Connection: I think a great strategy for this book would be a story map, suggested by Yopp & Yopp, page 73-75. The students could create a map that traces the story, and decorate each section with their own drawing of a scene from the book. This would shed light on the idea of a tradition being passed down through families and over time as well as help the students to see the differences that have occurred through time.