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Summary
Summary
This luminous and energetic picture book follows a young boy who takes his younger sister on her first trip to school in the Reconstruction-era South.
"Papa, Mama, can I go too?"
Virgie was always begging to go to school with us boys. My brothers had doubts. School was seven miles away--a long way from Mama. Virgie was scarcely big as a field mouse. How could she make the trip? And girls didn't really need school.
But I got to thinking: Virgie was free like we were. Free to learn. And didn't girls need to know how to write and add, too? Mama and Papa thought so. And one summer, they decided to do something about it. That was the year Virgie came to school with us boys. And she sure showed us!
Author Notes
Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard grew up hearing stories of her grandfather's childhood from her mother and later visited Jonesborough, Tennessee, a town seven miles from where her grandfather grew up. There, she drew inspiration for stories of her own.
E.B. Lewis is the award-winning illustrator of such books as Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, which was a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book, and This Little Light of Mine . He received the Caldecott Honor for Coming on Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes. E.B. Lewis lives in New Jersey, and you can visit him online at EBLewis.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-The youngest and the only girl in a family with five boys, Virgie works hard to convince everyone she is old enough, strong enough, and smart enough to attend the school set up by the Quakers for recently freed blacks in Jonesborough, TN. By the end of summer, she has convinced her family that she can make the seven-mile walk to board at school each week and willingly handle the job of "learning to be free." The story is a superb tribute to the author's great aunt, the inspiration for this book. Howard crystallizes each of the family members, setting the protagonist snugly in the midst of annoying but loving brothers and wise parents. A note provides more information about the school and family. Lewis's watercolor illustrations capture the characters with warmth and dignity; the many double-page spreads evoke the vastness of both the land and the immensity of Virgie's undertaking. There is a blush of dialect and two thrilling references to Raw Head and Bloody Bones waiting in the woods to catch the children on their way to school. Youngsters will enjoy Virgie but it will be years before they can harvest all that is planted in this gentle tale. A worthy choice for read-alouds and independent reading.-Jody McCoy, The Bush School, Seattle, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Based on a true story set during Reconstruction, an African-American girl is determined to get an education just like her brothers, despite the protests of her family. In a starred review, PW called Virgie "a radiant heroine." Ages 5-8. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Virgie wants to go to school with her brothers, but they reply that it's too far, too hard, and she's too little. Virgie asks her parents and, finally, her persistence pays off--she packs her pail for the week-long stay at the Quaker school for freed slaves. Lewis's watercolor illustrations enhance this addition to the author's collection of family stories. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 5^-7. A much-loved and often-told family story does not always translate into a compelling and engaging picture book, but this one sure does. Virgie, youngest in a family of boys, wants to learn to read and write just like her brothers. But the boys have to walk seven miles to Jonesborough each Monday morning, carrying their food and clothes, and stay the week at the Quaker school. Virgie is insistent, and the wonderful rhythms of the telling take us past the mill, the stream, the woods where the children sing to drive away the fear, and, finally, to school, where Virgie vows to read every book. Lewis, who illustrated Bat Boy and the Violin (1998), beautifully uses the play of light and dark, letting the greens of forest and meadow, the rich brown skin tones of the characters, and the pale cottons of britches and dresses make a sparkling series of images on the full-page illustrations. An author's note tells some of the family and social history on which the story is based. Children will respond to the wonderful pictures and the implicit and moving message about the value of learning. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido
