Show Way 

by Jacqueline Woodson illustrated by Hudson Talbott

Historical Fiction, Multicultural Literature 

Show Way is a beautiful narrative in which the author tells the stories of her female ancestors from slavery to the Civil Rights movement.  The book begins by telling the story of the author's earliest female ancestor she knows of, being sold into slavery at the age of seven.  She is given hope that one day freedom will come, so she sews patterns into a quilt that will one day lead slaves to the north for freedom, the Show Way.  The quilt sewing is passed from generation to generation.  In the end of the story, the author explains how now women in her family have become teachers and even she has become a writer.  This story offers hope and shares a wonderful story about the path African American women have taken  to freedom and what opportunities have come.  I would use this book to integrate social studies and literature by reading this while learning about the Civil War or the Civil Rights Movement, or possibly during Black History month as well.