Another oversized picturebook arriving this week was JANUARY’S SPARROW by Patricia Polacco (Philomel Books Penguin Young Readers Group 2009, $22.99.) This remarkable 96 page treasure needs all the pages to relate a monumental tribute to the Crosswhite family.
The story opens when the entire family, including Sadie, the youngest Crosswhite, have been assembled in the slave yard to witness the beating of January, a longtime family friend. Sadie knew January had talked of running. He had carved a sparrow for her saying, “It’s fixin to fly. And so am I.” Later that night her father returns to the cabin carrying a shovel saying he had done some buryin’. Much later Sadie is awakened by her mother encouraging her to hurry as “we is goin cross water tonight.” In the rush Sadie forgets her beloved sparrow.
After a horrifying journey the Crosswhites arrive in Marshall, Michigan, a town “dead set against keepin’ slaves. While at school Sadie develops a friendship with Polly whom she tells about the lost sculpture. She thought of January as her big brother, but actually he was only an orphan who lived with her family.
The family adjusts to their new life of freedom. However, they are always on the lookout for slave hunters. At Christmas the fourth year a package wrapped in calico arrives for Sadie. It holds January’s Sparrow. Her father confesses he treated January’s wounds and buried rocks. Then the worst comes when the slave hunters come specifically for the Crosswhite family. However, the town collects to prevent their seizure. Things are not going well until a stranger steps forward and shows the townspeople his scarred back. Yes, January has found the family.
This book is one of Patricia’s magnificent stories treating slavery in America. These make excellent reference books for schools studying slavery and the Civil War. I also feel her work could find an honored place in any study of Black History month. The art is so spectacular. The faces very dramatically show the anguish, fear, love, joy the Crosswhite family endured as they sought freedom and dignity in their lives. The scenes of slavery are particularly dramatic , but not too frightening for young readers.