. Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole (Scholastic, 2012) $19
. The Granddaughter Necklace by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Arthur A. Levine, 32 pages) $19
FEBRUARY is Black History Month and has been proclaimed as such by both the City and District of North Vancouver.
Canada Post has even issued a stamp featuring Joe Fortes, the black lifeguard at English Bay who has been credited with saving many lives and teaching hundreds of children to swim. On the North Shore, Harry Jerome is remembered for his amazing athletic feats.
Two picture books that deal with black history and culture are Unspoken and The Granddaughter Necklace. Henry Cole, author of Unspoken, says in a note at the back of his book that he wanted to create a book that was evocative of the Civil War era because he lives in an area where some skirmishes occurred. He also wanted to make the book a wordless one because of the unspoken communication that occurs between the two main characters. These characters are a little girl who lives on a farm which indicates its sympathy to slaves by hanging a freedom quilt over the fence and a slave attempting to escape northward to freedom.
Graphite illustrations on a cream background chronicle the action and follow the girl as she secretly feeds a runaway she discovers hiding in the barn. It is clear she is well aware of the dangers of helping - at the beginning of the story she cuddles her cat anxiously as she gazes at a passing group of Confederate soldiers and later she peers out from a hiding place at the bounty hunters who are showing the family a poster offering a reward for the capture of an escaped slave. The slave manages to evade the hunters leaving behind a corn husk doll as a thank you. The reader can hope that the girl's brave actions have helped him on his way to freedom.
This is a powerful tale of compassion and strength of character and is all the more effective for being told visually.
The Granddaughter Necklace is a tale of family history focussing on a necklace that is passed down from mother to daughter through many generations. The author explains in her notes that she has been collecting family stories since childhood and that she has traced her ancestry through DNA testing to Cameroon. The book begins with the author's Irish ancestor, Frances, who came to the U.S. around 1861.
Each time the necklace is passed along the story moves back a generation with a similar phrase explaining the chain of relationships. The occasions on which the necklace is bestowed vary. The necklace is a birthday gift in one generation or a treasure to ease the pain of leaving family in another. The stories of each mother as a child are diverse and fascinating. The illustrations are beautiful and evoke the warm relationships between mother and daughter. In particular, the double-page painting of Frances standing at a ship's railing at sunset is absolutely gorgeous. This is a book to share with your daughter along with your own family history.
Fran Ashdown worked for many years as a children's librarian at the North Vancouver District Library. She is especially interested in the history of freedom quilts because her mother was a wonderful quilter. For more information check your North Shore libraries.
