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Title details for This Is the Rope by Jacqueline Woodson - Available

This Is the Rope

A Story from the Great Migration

by Jacqueline Woodson
James Ransome
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Jacqueline Woodson—New York Times Bestselling, National Book Award and Newbery Honor winning author—writes a rich story of a family adapting to change as they hold on to the past and embrace the future.

During the time of the Great Migration, millions of African American families relocated from the South, seeking better opportunities. 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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 17, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780545837163
      • File size: 2780 KB
      • Duration: 00:05:47

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 790
    • Text Difficulty: 3-4

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Channie Waites celebrates hope with her narration of this moving story, which introduces listeners to a multigenerational family who participate in the Great Migration of African-Americans. Whether sounding serious, shy, or jubilant, Waites captures the feelings of the extended family in this story as they pack up and move from their beloved pine-scented South to pursue dreams of financial and personal freedom in the North. Her characterization of individual voices--from elderly grandfather to jump-roping girl--are especially wonderful, complementing the book's fine illustrations. The musical background adds playful texture while suggesting a chronological progression through the years. This top-notch production includes a thoughtful Author's Note, read by the author. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 20, 2013
      Woodson’s (Each Kindness) gentle, unpretentious writing and Ransome’s eloquent artwork breathe life into this story of a close-knit African-American family and their pursuit of a better life. The rope of the title is used over and over, tying luggage to the family station wagon when they leave South Carolina, airing diapers outside their new Brooklyn apartment, serving as a jump rope for the narrator’s mother as a girl, then securing boxes as she later goes off to college. Ransome (Light in the Darkness) pays close attention to the details of life in 1970s and ’80s Brooklyn, from the posters on a bedroom wall and silverware drying by the sink to the dubious expressions of the neighborhood preteens as they survey the new girl. The rope that unites the family then passes to a new generation, as the narrator learns how to jump rope, “right here in Brooklyn, just last Friday night.” The chronicle of a homely object in an age of disposables and the sense of place Woodson and Ransome evoke make this an especially strong and vibrant fictive memoir. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:790
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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