Coming on Home Soon

Starred review from November 29, 2004
The creators of The Other Side
set this quietly stirring tale during an unspecified wartime (though details in the paintings suggest WWII). Ada Ruth's mother packs her suitcase in the opening full-bleed painting, explaining to her daughter, "They're hiring colored women in Chicago since all the men are off fighting in the war.... I'm gonna head on up there." Staying with her loving grandmother, the forlorn narrator continues to write to her mother, yet receives no response. Ada Ruth takes solace in her grandmother's embraces and encouragement ("Your mama's gonna be coming on home soon") and in the company of a kitten that appears at the door one snowy morning. Woodson's narrative is lyrical and spontaneous; of the kitten, Ada Ruth observes, "It's a slip of a thing. But its softness is big./ And warm as ten quilts on my lap./ Warm as Mama's hands." Lewis's lifelike, earth-toned watercolors deftly convey the sustaining affection and mutual support between Ada Ruth and her grandmother, as well as the girl's simultaneous loneliness. Well placed cameo-shaped portraits of the mother and her activities provide reassurance to readers. The story ends on a positive note: the long-awaited letter from Mama promises "I'll be coming on home soon" and a final, wordless image reveals the woman making her way through the snow to their door. Ages 5-up.

Starred review from October 1, 2004
K-Gr 3 -A beautifully written and illustrated story from the creators of The Other Side (Putnam, 2001), set during World War II. Ada Ruth waits for the return of her mother, who left home in search of a job. "They're hiring colored women in Chicago since all the men are off fighting in the war." Perfectly matched words and illustrations masterfully bring to life all the emotions that the girl is experiencing as she, her grandmother, and a stray kitten that has come to stay all try to comfort and console one another. As snow continues to fall, the large watercolor pages are filled with scenes of wistful longing-looking out the window, bringing in firewood, giving the kitten some milk, knitting, listening to news on the radio, and capturing the disappointment when the postman passes without stopping. Finally, a letter arrives and, with it, some much-needed money. The first line of the letter reads, "Tell Ada Ruth I'll be coming on home soon." Now, images convey a warm sense of anticipation. The final painting shows a woman with her back to readers approaching a house] home. A tender, heartfelt story that will touch readers.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2004
K-Gr. 3. As in their award-winning picture book " The Other Side" (2001), Woodson and Lewis tell a moving historical story of longing and separation. The setting here is the home front during World War II, and Ada Ruth's mama leaves to find work in the city ("They're hiring colored women in Chicago since all the men are off fighting in the war"). At home with Grandma, Ada Ruth holds on to memories of Mama's love and writes to her. Times are hard, and for a long time "no letter or money coming." Ada Ruth takes in a stray kitten, and even though Grandma says they can't keep it, Ada Ruth does, and its purring softness is big and warm on her lap. The race, class, and gender struggle is part of the larger drama ("A colored woman working on the railroad!"), but for Ada Ruth, it's the waiting, quietly expressed in her simple, poetic first-person narrative. Lewis' beautiful watercolors establish the setting, not the South this time, but a spacious rural landscape with snow and icy storms, and inside, the loving portrayals of the women in warm, neat rooms with an empty chair. Period and place are wonderfully specific; the yearning is timeless. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2005
When Mama goes north to Chicago to earn money while the men are fighting in World War II, Ada Ruth must stay home with Grandma, trying hard to be brave. Story line here is spare; this is all about feelings and relationships, and Woodson's gently evocative words are expressively developed in Lewis's watercolors. Lewis captures both people and place with great warmth and humanity.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2004
When Mama goes north to Chicago to earn money while the men are at war, Ada Ruth must stay home with Grandma, trying hard to be brave. She knows how much her mother loves her ("more than rain"), but a long time passes without word from Mama. Story line here is spare; this is all about feelings and relationships (while Ada Ruth lavishes affection on a stray kitten, Grandma holds back, warning her not to get too attached), and Woodson's gently evocative words are expressively developed in Lewis's watercolors. Lewis captures both people and place with great warmth and humanity. The rural home is plain but not stark, with each possession detailed in soft browns, perfectly in keeping with the World War II setting. At the end, when Ada Ruth and Grandma get word that Mama will be coming home soon, their faces convey through their open joy how much feeling they have been holding in. Stalwart Ada Ruth, who narrates the story in first person, and Grandma, who speaks sternly while behaving lovingly, are complex, truthfully drawn characters, and this story of waiting will mean even more to children who are themselves waiting for a parent to return home.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)