Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town

November 1, 2018
A little girl and her family join the Kansas land rush.The cover welcomes readers into this story about Dede Patton and her family. Both of Dede's parents work extra jobs, and Dede shines shoes at the train station, all in hopes of paying off their sharecropping debt so they can move west. But no matter how much they work, they don't make enough (context on the sharecropping economy is provided in a note). An act of providence changes their fortunes when honest Dede returns a customer's wallet and receives a monetary reward. Though not remarked upon, the fact that without this windfall the Pattons might never have realized their dream is chilling. The lovely, warm watercolor illustrations highlight the beauty of the prairie, particularly the wide expanse of grass and sky. In Kansas, the Pattons stake their land claim, but winter is harsh. Thankfully, when food and fuel run low, Ni-u-kon-ska (Osage) neighbors lend aid. Eventually more people arrive, African-American like the Pattons; their settlement becomes a town, and the Pattons' dream of holding the deed for their land is realized. The closing note acknowledges the displacement of the Ni-u-kon-ska people--another opportunity for exploration. That the many all-black settlements on the prairie have been whitewashed out of U.S. history makes this book an important one. Visually charming, enjoyable, and educational. (Picture book. 4-9)

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February 1, 2019

Gr 1-4-Most readers will get their first introduction to the term Exodusters from this lovely story that chronicles an African American pioneer family's escape from the harsh realities of post-Civil War sharecropping to settle in Kansas. The story centers on Dede, a young girl who has a shoe shine box at the train station, working like everyone in her family, from "sun-climb to sun-slide." They all do their part to raise enough money to head west to Nicodemus and stake a claim for their own homestead. The book portrays the dreams and struggles of a pioneer family, as well as the importance of a little help along the way. The tone is conversational. However, the forced removal of Native Americans, mostly Osage, from those same lands is mentioned only in the endnote. The warm watercolor illustrations include full-page landscapes highlighting the wide-open prairie and close-up portraits that depict the faith, love, and joy in Dede's family as they strike out on this new adventure. Historical background on the Exodusters, the Native American tribes in the region, and an update on the Nicodemus settlement are appended. VERDICT An additional for most libraries owing to its unique portrayal of the often-overlooked diversity in the American pioneer spirit.-Theresa Muraski, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Library

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December 1, 2018
Grades K-3 Growing up in the South during the 1870s, Dede dreams that someday she and her parents can stop sharecropping and start farming their own land. With hard work, long hours, and a bit of luck, they gather enough money to move to Kansas and claim land for colored folks near Nicodemus, a new town on the prairie. Treated kindly by their neighbors, they spend several years fencing, planting, and harvesting in order to prove their claim on the land. When they succeed, their community gathers to celebrate outside their dugout home. An appended note comments on sharecropping, the Exodusters, the forced removal of Native Americans from the Great Plains, and the history of Nicodemus. LaFaye, whose novel Worth (2004) won the Scott O'Dell Award, lets Dede tell her story and grounds it in engaging period details of her everyday experiences. In a series of emotionally resonant pencil-and-watercolor illustrations, Tadgell clearly expresses the aspirations, labors, and emotions of the main characters. An appealing picture book exploring a part of pioneer history that deserves to be more widely known.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)