Without hesitation, I’m boldly proclaiming the novel-in-verse One Big Open Sky as one of my top picks for 2024. In this captivating story, eleven-year-old Lettie and her family join a caravan of Black homesteaders on a months-long journey from Mississippi to Nebraska. Author Lesa Cline-Ransome provides an incredibly authentic portrayal of fictive kinship bonds within the African American community while illuminating a fascinating historical time.

The book is told through poetic chapters delivered in the voices of Lettie, her mother Sylvia, and Philomena, a young teacher they meet along the way. This trio of perspectives brings depth to the characters and their experiences while illuminating the hopes and fears of people who were desperate for a chance to break free from sharecropping and its myriad abuses. Though female voices drive the story, most of the other characters are boys and men, making for a beautiful arrangement of integrated and complex relationships.

Dreams / Everybody had them / all different in some way / but the same too / wanting more than they had / and more than they’d ever seen / Not one knowing / what the West was like / but trusting / that with God / it was gonna be better than what they were leaving / behind

One Big Open Sky, pgs. 86-87

Ideal ages: The publisher is targeting middle grade readers (ages 8-12), and I think 10-12 is the ideal age for reading the book independently. However, younger siblings would also enjoy listening to this story read aloud.

Content considerations: The historically accurate journey to Nebraska was difficult, and the book includes adult deaths from illness, drowning, and an accidental shooting. The author gives a tender rendering of the resulting grief experienced by those left behind. There’s a scene with bullies abusing a dog, but the pup goes on to be loved and well cared for. A young woman and man on the trail have a sweet and respectful G-rated courtship that I enjoyed following.

One Big Open Sky is the first middle grade novel I’ve encountered that explores the lives of Exodusters, the name given to thousands of African American homesteaders who migrated westward in the late nineteenth century, and my kids have been waiting a long time.

They used to dress up in clothing from that period while pretending that old cardboard boxes were makeshift cabins as they warmed their hands in front of the campfire (aka our living room fireplace). They didn’t know many stories of people from that time who looked like them, but their imaginations took over, and they inserted themselves into all sorts of made-up tales.

Children are naturally drawn to stories from the “olden days,” when people rode covered wagons and forged new lives on rugged terrain. The times when families grew and raised what they ate and made more things than they bought. There’s something fascinating about the idea of starting over in a new place, even as we contend with the fact that, in many cases, our government handed over land that wasn’t theirs to give. It’s a complicated time to explore as it requires us to sit with that tension, but perhaps that’s why many of us crave these stories.

The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder has done the most to bring this period to life for generations of children, but not without its share of controversy. There’s much to love in the stories of Laura, Ma, Pa, Mary, and baby Carrie, but the messages about Indigenous peoples (and more) are difficult to stomach. The lovely Birchbark House series by Louise Erdrich rights those wrongs with its rich story of a young Ojibwa girl, Omakayas, and her family in the nineteenth century. There’s also Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park, which tells of the trials and prejudices experienced by a young Asian girl, Hanna, in America’s heartland in 1880.

My family has enjoyed these books immensely, but we’ve always craved a story that includes Black people. It’s exciting to have One Big Open Sky added to the offering, and I highly recommend it!

If I learned one thing / it was / in orer to keep going / you had to forget / Think only of / tomorrow / and never of / yesterdays / and todays / cold / hunger / loneliness / anger / and / loss

pg. 183

More books by this author

Lesa Cline-Ransome has long written excellent stories focused on Black history and culture, many of which are illustrated by her uber-talented husband, James E. Ransome. They are quite the duo, and my family has many of their individual and partnered books on our shelves. Below are several picture books and chapter books that your family or book club may enjoy after reading One Big Open Sky:

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using these links to other books by One Big Open Sky author Lesa Cline-Ransome at no additional cost to you. I appreciate your support.

I haven’t read For Lamb yet, so if you’ve already had the pleasure of reading it or any of her other titles, please drop a comment below to share your thoughts.

Check out my book A PLACE TO BELONG for details on selecting books as mirrors and windows and determining what constitutes a “good book” for your children.

You can follow Lesa’s adventures on Instagram @lclineransome. You’ll find me chatting there too! @heritagemomblog.