Coming On Home Soon

 

Title: Coming On Home Soon
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated By: E.B. Lewis
Published By: G. P. Putnam's Sons


I loved reading this story because it was how I felt when my husband was gone to the beach last week and I could relate to how someone feels when they are separated from a loved one. I think the story was powerful because I could infer the feelings that the daughter had while missing her mother without them being told to the me. The first page was emotional. You knew by the words that the mother had a warm heart. Her hands were warm and soft. So she had never worked outside of the home/farm. Now she was going to work on the railroad, this was unusual for black women or any women to work outside of the house. However, I was most drawn into the story with the repeated lines of “I love you more than rain; I love you more than snow” because it summarized how you hold onto memories or words of the ones you love when they are away. Unlike this story my husband came home on Friday. For Ada Ruth she had a long time before her mother comes back.
In the pictures you could see the pain in the faces of the mother and daughter as she packs for the trip. She said that she held back the tears when her Moma packed her Sunday dress. I even like how when the characters speak that they use italicized fonts. This is a good trait because then a teacher or whoever is reading it could put feelings and emotion into the story. 
The book also has two spread pages words on one side and the picture is of the setting on the other. I also noticed that the pages with writing on them sometimes has a significant picture located at the bottom. This signifies something major and important. One example is Ada lying on the floor next to her mothers chair holding her cat. The only words on the page are,

Time passes.

 The author didn't need to write anything else she got her point across loud and clear with only saying the minimum. I love how she ends the book with her Moma walking up to the house. Coming On Home Soon is a great book.