Coming on Home Soon

Coming on Home Soon

by Jacqueline Woodson
Illustration by E. B. Lewis

Ada Ruth's mama must go away to Chicago to work, leaving Ada Ruth and Grandma behind. It's war time, and women are needed to fill the men's jobs. As winter sets in, Ada Ruth and her grandma keep up their daily routine, missing Mama all the time. They find strength in each other, and a stray kitten even arrives one day to keep them company, but nothing can fill the hole Mama left. Every day they wait, watching for the letter that says Mama will be coming on home soon.

Jacqueline Woodson's Coming on Home is a Caldecott Honor Book about a young girl, Ada Ruth, waiting for her mother to come back. The story is set during a war, and all the men are gone so the women are recruited for labor positions. Ada Ruth's mom goes to work for the railroad to support herself, her mother, and Ada Ruth. The story includes intense feelings and is written in beautiful prose, highly poetic and unusual for a children's book. For example, Ada Ruth remembers her mother smelling "Like sugar some days. And some days like sun" or when she describes the cat, "Its a slip of a thing. But its softness is big." Dialogue is also used throughout, written in dialect and indicated with italics rather than quotes. The pages range from hosting multiple paragraphs to just two lonely words, "Time passes." The pictures are beautiful page-filling watercolor paintings.

Your child may be able to relate or empathize with some of Ada Ruth's feelings, like when she misses her mother, finds the stray cat and is instantly attached, or looks to her grandmother for support and hope. Because this story is set far before your little one's time, they may have questions about which war this book is referring to, why Ada Ruth's mom had to go away to work, why Ada Ruth's grandmother had to hurt possum and rabbit to eat instead of just going to the grocery store, or why they are waiting for a letter in the mail - why not email? If your child's grandparents are available, this is a great book to bond over, as they can talk about what things were like in the past, sharing their own experiences to compare and contrast with Ada Ruth's story.

My five-year-old friend, Nick, took this book to his kindergarten class for Show and Tell. He said his teacher read it to the whole class, and they thanked him for brining it. When I asked Nick what his favorite part of the book was, he said when Ada Ruth adopted the kitten because he's always wanted a kitten too. Well see if his parents picked up on the not-so-subtle hint.

--Audra