In the early decades of the twentieth century, Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck, & Co., donated millions of dollars to build schools for African American children in the south. The Rosenwald Fund stipulated that the both black and white members of the local community had to contribute to the school’s building and upkeep, and the state had to commit to maintaining the school. This information, stated in an author’s note, provides the background for this fictional story about one such school being built in a rural black community. Author Carole Boston Weatherford tells her tale in a series of poems in the voice of a young black girl who is both witness to and participant in the exciting, life-changing project in her community. R. Gregory Christie’s gouache and colored pencil paintings are expressive and distinctively styled, conveying a sense of hard work and hope. (Ages 6–9)

Young Ovella rejoices as her community comes together to raise money and build a much-needed school in the 1920s, with matching funds from the president of Sears, Roebuck, and Company and support from Professor James of the Normal School.