In the Land of Milk and Honey by Joyce Carol Thompson
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Genre: Juvenile Fiction / People & Places
Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3
Pages: 32 Hardcover
Date Published: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s
Coretta Scott King Award and Honor winners Joyce Carol Thomas and Floyd Cooper capture one girl’s amazing journey west with her family, based on the author’s true story of her move from Oklahoma to California in 1948. Terrific sights and flavors welcome them with sweet possibility, reflected in the faces of people of all races, cultures, and ethnicities.
Where oranges are as big as grapefruits and bears fish like men-California awaits, as one girl makes the exciting cross-country move by train with her family. Awe-inspiring scenes come to life as soaring mountains give way to the sweeping Golden Gate. The adventure of this world unfolds as the train takes them to a place where people from all paths come together, sipping Mexican hot chocolate and eating African bread, and music from the welcome party fills the air. This tells the tale of many who made this same trip, drawn by a land filled with plenty and promise, the land of milk and honey.
in this breathtaking and gorgeous story, the dynamic duo of Joyce Carol Thomas and Floyd Cooper capture the anticipation and thrill of a girl on the brink of her new life.
Whenever it comes to getting a new book from award winning authors and illustrators I become a little giddy and it was the same for In the Land of Milk and Honey. In reading it, it started out wonderfully with a great lyrical rhythm and ambiance, but then it just lost it and felt disconnected almost the rest of the way through. It was off and odd to me, but the illustrations make the book worth it anyway. It’s adventurous and new.
*Thanks to HarperCollins for providing an ARC for review.*
Joyce Carol Thomas is an internationally renowned author who received the National Book Award for her first novel, Marked by Fire, and a Coretta Scott King Honor for The Blacker the Berry and for her first picture book, Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea. Her picture book I Have Heard of a Land received a Coretta Scott King Honor and an International Reading Association Teacher’s Choice Award and was an American Library Association Notable Book. Her other titles include The Gospel Cinderella, Crowning Glory, Gingerbread Days, and A Gathering of Flowers. Ms. Thomas lives in Berkeley, CA. You can visit her online at www.joycecarolthomas.com.
Floyd Cooper received a Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations in The Blacker the Berry and a Coretta Scott King Award Honor for Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea and I Have Heard of a Land. Born and raised in Tulsa, OK, Mr. Cooper received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and, after graduating, worked as an artist for a major greeting card company. In 1984 he came to New York City to pursue a career as an illustrator of books and now lives in Easton, PA, with his wife and children. You can visit him online at www.floydcooper.com.
Amistad publishes works by and about people of African descent, on subjects and themes that have significant influence on the intellectual, cultural, and historical perspectives of a world audience.
