One Big Open Sky
Lesa Cline-Ransome, map by Allira Tree
Told in verse through the voices of Lettie, her mother Sylvia, and Philomena, this novel follows Black pioneers heading west in 1879. Lettie’s father, Thomas, wants to leave Mississippi, where racism and the legacy of slavery limit the family’s possibilities, for Nebraska, which welcomes homesteaders regardless of race. Sylvia is reluctant to leave extended family, but the group sets out with other Black homesteaders. Philomena joins them in Missouri, paying to travel with the family because a teaching job awaits her in Nebraska. The journey brings uncertainty, tension, and changing family bonds.
This book appears on 4 reading lists across 1 edition from 4 organizations.
