Blog #21: Show Way

Blog #21

Show Way
By Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by Hudson Talbott
The Penguin Group
2005
40 pages

Historical Fiction

I chose this book because I liked the unique style of illustrations and the way the story is woven along a timeline. This is a lovely genealogical tale of women in the author’s life. It could probably also be considered non-fiction, but because it depicts different points in history I felt it was most appropriately described as historical fiction. The author describes how her ancestors made their way out of slavery and into freedom. Throughout the book, each relative has a special talent for “showing the way” to freedom. Her great-grandmother sewed “show-way” quilts that acted as a map that depicted the way through the Underground Railroad, and her aunt wrote poems that showed the way out of illiteracy and into creativity. 

All About the Author: 

The illustrations in this book are mostly double-page spreads with a few paneled pages. The illustrations were done is multimedia including watercolors, chalk, muslin, workshirts and bermuda shorts on cold-press watercolor paper. As the reader begins the book, the pictures start out dark with a little light. This reflects the darkness of slavery with the hope of freedom symbolized by the show-way quilt to the Underground Railroad. As the reader moves through the text, the pictures become increasingly brighter and have more color as freedom for the characters becomes more and more tangible until it is finally a reality. As a precursor to the story, the frontis page depicts a child and her father standing under a quilt with the faces of notable people involved in civil rights. 

This book is appropriate for K-3^rd grade students. It would be an excellent read-aloud to introduce lessons about the Underground Railroad or the progression of civil rights in our country. Another way this book could be utilized would be to have students do some research about their ancestors and put together a book similar to this one about the people in their family tree. This project would be most appropriate for 2^nd or 3^rd graders. A great way to bring this story to life in the classroom for any age would be to have a show way quilt hanging up in the reading center while the teacher reads the book aloud. The teacher could point out the show way quilt and use it as a discussion piece once the story is over. This book was awarded the Newbery Honor Medal.

To read more about books by Jacqueline Woodson or why she wrote Show Way, click on her name to jump to her website.