All Aboard the Schooltrain: A Little Story from the Great Migration

This child’s view of the Great Migration begins with Thelma, a Black third grader living in Vacherie, La., watching trains pass by. One train, the Sunset Limited, is headed for California, where the child’s uncle fled when “a man named Jim Crow had made trouble.” Soon, Thelma joins a train of her own: the schooltrain, a line formed by Black kids of all ages to travel together to school. At school, the kids ride an imaginary train through history, courtesy of their teacher, who says that though slavery has ended, “We are still fighting for our rights.” When “Mr. Jim Crow” and his unjust laws come for her father, Thelma rides one more train—the Sunset Limited—when her family relocates in search of a better life. Morris’s digitally collaged tissue paper illustrations foreground figures and wide-open landscapes, and Armand, who draws on personal history, lends the meandering feel of family stories to this portrait of a historical moment. Back matter includes an author’s note and additional material. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)