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American Regional
Cotton in My Sack
Picking enough cotton to fill the long sack means more money to spend in town on Saturday. Joanda knows what fun it is to spend the money she has earned herself; but she knows, too, what it means when the money is gone. Whatever happens, Joana always shares in her family's ups-and-downs, even when it means facing the mysterious loss of the load of cotton that was to mean the beginning of independence for the family
190 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1949
5 people are currently reading
436 people want to read
About the author
Lois Lenski
192 books198 followersLois Lenore Lenski Covey was an influential American author and illustrator whose work reshaped twentieth-century children’s literature through its combination of artistic skill, documentary realism, and deep empathy for childhood experience. Beginning her publishing career in the late 1920s, she went on to write and illustrate nearly one hundred books, ranging from picture books and historical novels to regional fiction, poetry, songbooks, and literary essays. She is best known for the Mr. Small picture book series, her meticulously researched historical novels, and her groundbreaking Regional books, which portrayed the everyday lives of children across diverse American communities.
Born in Ohio and trained formally as both an educator and an artist, Lenski studied at Ohio State University, the Art Students League of New York, and the Westminster School of Art in London. Although she initially aspired to be a painter, exhibiting work in New York galleries, she gradually turned to illustration and then to writing, encouraged by pioneering children’s editor Helen Dean Fish. Her early books drew heavily on her Midwestern childhood, while later works reflected extensive travel, field research, and close observation of family and community life.
Lenski achieved major critical recognition with her historical novels Phebe Fairchild: Her Book and Indian Captive, and with her Regional novel Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Medal. These works were notable for their commitment to authenticity, incorporating dialect, material culture, and social realities often avoided in children’s books of the era. She believed that literature for young readers should neither sentimentalize nor sanitize life, but instead foster understanding, tolerance, and empathy.
Alongside her own writing, Lenski illustrated works by other major authors, including Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could and the early volumes of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. Her influence extended beyond publishing through lectures, teaching, and advocacy. In 1967 she established the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, dedicated to providing books to children facing social and economic disadvantage.
In her later years, Lenski continued writing while living in Florida, publishing her autobiography Journey into Childhood shortly before her death. Her legacy endures through her books, her educational philosophy, and ongoing efforts to expand access to literature for children.
Born in Ohio and trained formally as both an educator and an artist, Lenski studied at Ohio State University, the Art Students League of New York, and the Westminster School of Art in London. Although she initially aspired to be a painter, exhibiting work in New York galleries, she gradually turned to illustration and then to writing, encouraged by pioneering children’s editor Helen Dean Fish. Her early books drew heavily on her Midwestern childhood, while later works reflected extensive travel, field research, and close observation of family and community life.
Lenski achieved major critical recognition with her historical novels Phebe Fairchild: Her Book and Indian Captive, and with her Regional novel Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Medal. These works were notable for their commitment to authenticity, incorporating dialect, material culture, and social realities often avoided in children’s books of the era. She believed that literature for young readers should neither sentimentalize nor sanitize life, but instead foster understanding, tolerance, and empathy.
Alongside her own writing, Lenski illustrated works by other major authors, including Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could and the early volumes of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. Her influence extended beyond publishing through lectures, teaching, and advocacy. In 1967 she established the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, dedicated to providing books to children facing social and economic disadvantage.
In her later years, Lenski continued writing while living in Florida, publishing her autobiography Journey into Childhood shortly before her death. Her legacy endures through her books, her educational philosophy, and ongoing efforts to expand access to literature for children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
September 24, 2022
This is a children's book that I first read when I was in the second grade. I have never forgotten it or the long days in which there was cotton in my sack. A couple of years ago I purchased a copy on Ebay, thinking that perhaps my grandchildren might want to read it someday, but I don't think there is much chance of that.
April 3, 2017
Realistic fiction about young Joanda Hutley and her sharecropper family, cotton pickers in Arkansas during the late 1940s. The Hutleys endure many ups and downs and live from payday to payday, often squandering their money in town every Saturday, and leaving little for groceries and coal to heat their house. Tractor accidents, illness, stolen cotton and other problems keep the Hutleys locked in place, until Uncle Shine Morse shows them how they must pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Despite their hardships, Joanda and her family work together and are a cheerful and loving group, which makes it a remarkably charming story. Neighbors look out for each other and even the boss man’s wife turns out to be nice, making the story both a dose of reality and an example of the goodness in people.
Lenski is both the author and the illustrator of Cotton in My Sack and her unique illustrations show the family during the good and the bad, adding much to the story’s realism.
Cotton in My Sack is one of my favorite girlhood books. Reading it again makes me understand how my reading tastes have developed, as I have always loved stories about large families and their struggles. It reminds me now of a combination of the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and also a little bit of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I like how the author doesn’t gloss over the hard times but also shows the family’s resilience and optimism.
Lois Lenski wrote and illustrated many regional children’s books, and she won a Newbery Medal in 1946 for Strawberry Girl. She wrote Cotton in My Sack at the request of children in Arkansas, who had read, Strawberry Girl and wanted her to write a book about them.
Despite their hardships, Joanda and her family work together and are a cheerful and loving group, which makes it a remarkably charming story. Neighbors look out for each other and even the boss man’s wife turns out to be nice, making the story both a dose of reality and an example of the goodness in people.
Lenski is both the author and the illustrator of Cotton in My Sack and her unique illustrations show the family during the good and the bad, adding much to the story’s realism.
Cotton in My Sack is one of my favorite girlhood books. Reading it again makes me understand how my reading tastes have developed, as I have always loved stories about large families and their struggles. It reminds me now of a combination of the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and also a little bit of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I like how the author doesn’t gloss over the hard times but also shows the family’s resilience and optimism.
Lois Lenski wrote and illustrated many regional children’s books, and she won a Newbery Medal in 1946 for Strawberry Girl. She wrote Cotton in My Sack at the request of children in Arkansas, who had read, Strawberry Girl and wanted her to write a book about them.
February 21, 2011
This is the sixth book in Lois Lenski's American Regional Series. I missed it when reading the list of books from 1949, so I am adding it now. I also missed posting The Family Read yesterday, but since today is a school holiday, I am getting away with it!
Joanda's family are white share croppers in the cotton fields of Louisiana. The cotton grows almost right up to the walls of their tiny shack. To keep their lives going, the whole family picks cotton or helps in some way appropriate to their size and age. In this story whites, blacks, adults and children labor side by side and mostly in harmony.
The family subsists on money borrowed from the boss man, which they call "furnish." When the crop comes in they get paid, minus the money they have already borrowed. Usually by the time winter is over, they have run out of food and coal so must live on biscuits and beans, but it is the time when the children can go to school. During the growing season, when they do have money, the best day of the week is Saturday which they spend in town shopping.
As is usual in Lois Lenski's books, the Hutley family is the one that breaks out of this cycle of poverty and makes a better life due to hard work and a good bit of luck. The life of this family comes alive on the pages and in the illustrations. Joanda, though plucky and smart, has her share of worries and unfortunate events which she has to deal with by herself. Her father is always busy and her mother is overworked and in ill health, so Joanda also keeps watch over her baby sister, whom she loves to death.
My favorite book in the American Regional Series is Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Award. I don't remember reading Cotton in My Sack as a child but reading it now, I liked it just as well as Strawberry Girl. These days any kid can find out about the lives of other kids around the country and the world on television and the internet, so I like to think of Lois Lenski as a writer who had the vision to get this information out to children all on her own through books alone. It was an amazing feat on her part.
Joanda's family are white share croppers in the cotton fields of Louisiana. The cotton grows almost right up to the walls of their tiny shack. To keep their lives going, the whole family picks cotton or helps in some way appropriate to their size and age. In this story whites, blacks, adults and children labor side by side and mostly in harmony.
The family subsists on money borrowed from the boss man, which they call "furnish." When the crop comes in they get paid, minus the money they have already borrowed. Usually by the time winter is over, they have run out of food and coal so must live on biscuits and beans, but it is the time when the children can go to school. During the growing season, when they do have money, the best day of the week is Saturday which they spend in town shopping.
As is usual in Lois Lenski's books, the Hutley family is the one that breaks out of this cycle of poverty and makes a better life due to hard work and a good bit of luck. The life of this family comes alive on the pages and in the illustrations. Joanda, though plucky and smart, has her share of worries and unfortunate events which she has to deal with by herself. Her father is always busy and her mother is overworked and in ill health, so Joanda also keeps watch over her baby sister, whom she loves to death.
My favorite book in the American Regional Series is Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Award. I don't remember reading Cotton in My Sack as a child but reading it now, I liked it just as well as Strawberry Girl. These days any kid can find out about the lives of other kids around the country and the world on television and the internet, so I like to think of Lois Lenski as a writer who had the vision to get this information out to children all on her own through books alone. It was an amazing feat on her part.
May 2, 2019
3.5 stars
Another wonderful story from the creator of Strawberry Girl!
Joanda and her family are sharecroppers, never living in one place long, and working hard and long hours in the fields picking cotton just to eke out a living. They are uneducated folks, spending money freely as they get it and living off advanced paychecks when it runs out. But one visit to the boss-man's house is going to be the turning point for not only Joanda, but her family as well.
This story is a fabulous combination of character developing scenes and anxious page-turning scenes. Through heartache, loss, forgiveness, and moments of joy and growth, Joanda and her family begin the hard work of making something out of themselves, dropping their ignorant ways and diligently applying themselves to learning a better way of life.
Ages: 8 - 14
Cleanliness: children play a word game where they mention snuff, smoking a pipe, and chewing tobacco. Uses the word "Negroes" throughout the book and says "colored". "Law" is said to mean "Lord." "Lordy mercy" is said. Without the book saying, you know that the father has gotten himself drunk. A girl gets mad at her father, saying she'll hit him, for being seemingly flippant about the loss of their furniture. A girl accidentally ruins a book and will not go to school afterwards because she's afraid. A girl feels guilty for not watching over her little sister better. A little girl is selfish throughout the book, throwing tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants; she runs away, getting lost a few times too.
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!
Visit my website!
Another wonderful story from the creator of Strawberry Girl!
Joanda and her family are sharecroppers, never living in one place long, and working hard and long hours in the fields picking cotton just to eke out a living. They are uneducated folks, spending money freely as they get it and living off advanced paychecks when it runs out. But one visit to the boss-man's house is going to be the turning point for not only Joanda, but her family as well.
This story is a fabulous combination of character developing scenes and anxious page-turning scenes. Through heartache, loss, forgiveness, and moments of joy and growth, Joanda and her family begin the hard work of making something out of themselves, dropping their ignorant ways and diligently applying themselves to learning a better way of life.
Ages: 8 - 14
Cleanliness: children play a word game where they mention snuff, smoking a pipe, and chewing tobacco. Uses the word "Negroes" throughout the book and says "colored". "Law" is said to mean "Lord." "Lordy mercy" is said. Without the book saying, you know that the father has gotten himself drunk. A girl gets mad at her father, saying she'll hit him, for being seemingly flippant about the loss of their furniture. A girl accidentally ruins a book and will not go to school afterwards because she's afraid. A girl feels guilty for not watching over her little sister better. A little girl is selfish throughout the book, throwing tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants; she runs away, getting lost a few times too.
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!
Visit my website!
May 9, 2019
When I heard about this book, I decided to read it because it brought to mind the copy of BLUE WILLOW I received as a Christmas present when I was a child. I have fond memories of reading BLUE WILLOW , lending it to my best friend, and discussing it with her. It was the first book that gave me a sense of empathy for a primary character that was not a dog, a horse, or Uncle Tom. It was a book that taught me that not every one in living The United States had the advantages I had (and I didn't have that many).
COTTON IN MY SACK is a story of people who, although doing the same type of farm work, don't migrate to follow the crops. They struggle nevertheless. Joanda, about ten, is the middle child in a family of five children, carrying responsibilities which seem too much for her--picking cotton and watching younger siblings ( a rambunctious toddler and a mischievous little brother.) The parents are loving but careless. Several times they lose the baby who has wandered off. The brother suffers a severe injury. But most shockingly, when they have money, they go to town on Saturday and spend it, with no thought for the future. This is realistic fiction for children and that is part of the realism. Poor people who have worked all week for little money might want to enjoy themselves just as the rest of us do. A movie, a bag or chips, a bottle of soda might sustain them for the remainder of their difficult week.
Lois Lensky does a good of presenting a life fraught with problems. But seldom do the problems seem insurmountable (at least not for long). With the help of neighbors and teachers, the children survive and thrive, and a better future seems to be in store for Joanda and her brothers and sisters.
I may read this to my granddaughter this summer and see what her reaction might be. It will be like learning about a foreign country for her.
COTTON IN MY SACK is a story of people who, although doing the same type of farm work, don't migrate to follow the crops. They struggle nevertheless. Joanda, about ten, is the middle child in a family of five children, carrying responsibilities which seem too much for her--picking cotton and watching younger siblings ( a rambunctious toddler and a mischievous little brother.) The parents are loving but careless. Several times they lose the baby who has wandered off. The brother suffers a severe injury. But most shockingly, when they have money, they go to town on Saturday and spend it, with no thought for the future. This is realistic fiction for children and that is part of the realism. Poor people who have worked all week for little money might want to enjoy themselves just as the rest of us do. A movie, a bag or chips, a bottle of soda might sustain them for the remainder of their difficult week.
Lois Lensky does a good of presenting a life fraught with problems. But seldom do the problems seem insurmountable (at least not for long). With the help of neighbors and teachers, the children survive and thrive, and a better future seems to be in store for Joanda and her brothers and sisters.
I may read this to my granddaughter this summer and see what her reaction might be. It will be like learning about a foreign country for her.
October 2, 2019
This was my last book to read in Lenski's American Regionals series, a reading project that I began with my friend Courtney three years ago in the fall of 2016 after we read the then new biography by Bobbie Malone called "Lois Lenski: Storycatcher."
Some of these books have been very difficult to read because of the hard lives of the children, the neglect of the children, and the general lack of regard for children's lives by the adults. Yet, Lenski's love for children and her belief that children deserve dignity and childhood shines through in each of these books. She lived among the families who she wrote about. Every one of these stories is based upon real people. These books show pieces of American history that most of us are completely ignorant about and thankfully will never have to experience.
Lois Lenski did a great service to the children of America when she wrote these books because she allowed all American children (and adults if they chose to read) at the time to learn about areas of the country that they were unfamiliar with- shining a light in unknown and sometimes dark pockets of American life and preserving them for all time.
I believe these books are appropriate for children to read today- especially today, though some may argue that point with me because they may feel that we should protect children from the raw realities of life. Lenski treats these stories very tenderly with one child being the featured main character who we see the story through even though they themselves deal with harsh realities.
This particular story featured obnoxious ignorant parents and other adult family members who in my opinion did not do their best for their children - yet, perhaps given their circumstances, they did their best? It's very complicated and hard to judge and that is the point. Life is not black and white.
Some of these books have been very difficult to read because of the hard lives of the children, the neglect of the children, and the general lack of regard for children's lives by the adults. Yet, Lenski's love for children and her belief that children deserve dignity and childhood shines through in each of these books. She lived among the families who she wrote about. Every one of these stories is based upon real people. These books show pieces of American history that most of us are completely ignorant about and thankfully will never have to experience.
Lois Lenski did a great service to the children of America when she wrote these books because she allowed all American children (and adults if they chose to read) at the time to learn about areas of the country that they were unfamiliar with- shining a light in unknown and sometimes dark pockets of American life and preserving them for all time.
I believe these books are appropriate for children to read today- especially today, though some may argue that point with me because they may feel that we should protect children from the raw realities of life. Lenski treats these stories very tenderly with one child being the featured main character who we see the story through even though they themselves deal with harsh realities.
This particular story featured obnoxious ignorant parents and other adult family members who in my opinion did not do their best for their children - yet, perhaps given their circumstances, they did their best? It's very complicated and hard to judge and that is the point. Life is not black and white.
September 9, 2018
My review: https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/20...
Lenski visited Arkansas and spent time with many sharecropper families trying to make a living, with little hope for the future, but affection for each other that keeps them going.
Lenski visited Arkansas and spent time with many sharecropper families trying to make a living, with little hope for the future, but affection for each other that keeps them going.
February 5, 2026
I wish I had read this while my grandparents were still living. This would have been akin to their experiences growing up and I wish I could inquire for further details for comparison's sake. They both grew up on Arkansas cotton farms, not too far the setting of the book, and I know my grandpa grew up living the tenant farming existence as described in the story. My grandma told me she liked to ride on top of the cotton in the wagon when they took it to the gin just like Joanda and her siblings did.
Familial comparisons aside, I think this and Judy's Journey are my favorite of the American Regional series. I love that Cotton In My Sack allowed the characters to have hope at the end and goals were set and pursued to improve their lives. This isn't always true of her other books. While I know Lenski is capturing authenticity and doesn't sugarcoat, it was nice to see dreams believed attainable and wisdom gained and applied in spite of numerous setbacks.
Familial comparisons aside, I think this and Judy's Journey are my favorite of the American Regional series. I love that Cotton In My Sack allowed the characters to have hope at the end and goals were set and pursued to improve their lives. This isn't always true of her other books. While I know Lenski is capturing authenticity and doesn't sugarcoat, it was nice to see dreams believed attainable and wisdom gained and applied in spite of numerous setbacks.
May 28, 2023
This is one of Lois Lenski's American Regional Series, about a dirt poor, cotton-picking white sharecropper family in Arkansas. After writing Strawberry Girl, Lenski was invited by Arkansas children who had heard it dramatized on the radio to come to cotton country. She spent time there in 1947 and wrote and illustrated this fictionalized account of the hardscrabble life.
February 14, 2015
Another gem by Lois Lasky. How I wish today's kids were made more aware of her titles. A true tragedy.
August 18, 2013
EVEYONE INVOLVED IN COTTON IS POOR...
Encouraged by the invitation of Arkansas children who enjoyed her STRAWBERRY GIRL, Lois Lenksi responded to the literary call to visit and study life in the cotton fields of Eastern Arkansas. Rich in alluvial soil from the Mississippi and bayou this region provided an unreliable living for bosses, tenant farmers and sharecroppers, for it required grit and the faith of desperation to stick it out one miserable year after another. How can folks plan to get ahead if they live hand to mouth and have never learned the art of saving or the value of present sacrifice for future advantage?
The Hutley family consists of five children but focuses on 10-year-old Joanda for two years. This plucky girl, who spoils her baby sister, sees more than most girls her age--more heartbreak, hope, pain and disaster. It is her love of books, however, which impresses her kind teacher, who in turn struggles to elevate the lifestyle of her sharecropper students and vicariously their families.
Lenski's Readers will experience and understand the cotton croppers in order to better appreciate the fate of America's rural poor. An easy read with evocative illustrations by the author who captured every detail for the eye--and the heart.
Check out the impressive list of Lenski's YA books if you are curious to consider a liteary patchwork of America's agrarian families, who remian rich in spirit.
(June 15, 20122. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
Encouraged by the invitation of Arkansas children who enjoyed her STRAWBERRY GIRL, Lois Lenksi responded to the literary call to visit and study life in the cotton fields of Eastern Arkansas. Rich in alluvial soil from the Mississippi and bayou this region provided an unreliable living for bosses, tenant farmers and sharecroppers, for it required grit and the faith of desperation to stick it out one miserable year after another. How can folks plan to get ahead if they live hand to mouth and have never learned the art of saving or the value of present sacrifice for future advantage?
The Hutley family consists of five children but focuses on 10-year-old Joanda for two years. This plucky girl, who spoils her baby sister, sees more than most girls her age--more heartbreak, hope, pain and disaster. It is her love of books, however, which impresses her kind teacher, who in turn struggles to elevate the lifestyle of her sharecropper students and vicariously their families.
Lenski's Readers will experience and understand the cotton croppers in order to better appreciate the fate of America's rural poor. An easy read with evocative illustrations by the author who captured every detail for the eye--and the heart.
Check out the impressive list of Lenski's YA books if you are curious to consider a liteary patchwork of America's agrarian families, who remian rich in spirit.
(June 15, 20122. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
June 10, 2009
Lois Lenski did this wonderful series about working children in America. They are somewhat out of date (they usually take place in the first half of the 20th century) but that doesn't make them less moving. Also, issues of poverty and class are ALWAYS relevant, and books like Cotton in My Sack and Strawberry Girl do a wonderful job of getting that conversation going with a young person.
I read this at the same time as Nickle and Dimed and there were plenty of disturbing parallels. It was very interesting to come at the same general concepts from an adult-non-fiction perspective and a children's-historical-fiction perspective simultaneously. Certainly multitudes of thought provoking moments.
And of course, the pages are full of wonderful Lenski illustrations. So charming.
I read this at the same time as Nickle and Dimed and there were plenty of disturbing parallels. It was very interesting to come at the same general concepts from an adult-non-fiction perspective and a children's-historical-fiction perspective simultaneously. Certainly multitudes of thought provoking moments.
And of course, the pages are full of wonderful Lenski illustrations. So charming.
March 23, 2008
My 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Rothgeb, gave me this book. It's been ages since I read it & when I was debating putting it out in my book exchange, I realized I wanted to read it again. It's a wonderful story, set in the late 1940's in Arkansas cotton picking country. The children in the story work hard & learn lots of valuable life lessons, but it never feels like a moral tale. Although it has some dated references, it's a wonderful retrospective on life during this era, and I'd recommend it to kids who are starting to read chapter books, even now, in 2008!
September 24, 2012
I discovered Lois Lenski as a child in the new Beech Grove Indiana library and loved them all!
October 13, 2023
I first read this book when I was in third grade. I FINALLY got my hands on a copy, used of course, because no way this book is still in print. Rereading it, I affirmed that it was as good as I remembered.
Yes, this is a way into the difficult world of the sharecropper in the South. Yes, there is drama. Yes, Joanda's voice is clear and legitimate. However, something that really makes this book irresistible to me is the illustrations. They are rendered in a folk style, but they convey the pain and joy of the characters.
Love this book!
Yes, this is a way into the difficult world of the sharecropper in the South. Yes, there is drama. Yes, Joanda's voice is clear and legitimate. However, something that really makes this book irresistible to me is the illustrations. They are rendered in a folk style, but they convey the pain and joy of the characters.
Love this book!
October 20, 2024
I loved this book as a child. Reading it as an adult is a different experience. Did the writer really witness the trashiness (literally. A yard full of trash) in a family? Why did she create a family based on so many stereotypes? Why not a hard-working family who actually had their cotton wagon stolen and suffered from the loss of income (true story from my father's childhood)? Instead, she paints a picture of a drunk dumbass father who has to be tricked into saving money.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2018
Reading this through the eyes of an adult, I had to give it 3 stars. Not sure what my star rating would have been as a young reader......maybe 3 1/2? Was surprised at the subtle hint of the father's drinking habit. I'm pretty sure that would have gone unnoticed by me as a child in the early 1970's.
November 20, 2018
At my parents' and rereading old childhood favorites. As a girl, I loved Lois Lenski's books for depicting the real lives of fellow children from the past. This book focuses on the story of cotton sharecroppers in Arkansas and their full life that revolved between continual debt & meager living and then the high, flush times of cotton picking season.
December 29, 2023
I adored Lois Lenski's books while growing up. I was a sheltered middle class child growing up in the early 1960s and her books were my introduction that American society is not free and equal. The book still holds up very well and sadly not much as changed when it comes to be poor in America.
January 26, 2018
loved this book every bit as much or more than the strawberry girl. a classic story of a working class family finding joy in every day toil and hardships.
November 26, 2018
One of my favorite books as a kid.
October 4, 2020
I read this multiple times growing up. It was one of my favorites. I’m so glad I got to introduce my children to this classic.
March 24, 2022
Read this as a part of our state study of Arkansas.
September 13, 2022
This reminds me a lot of "Judy's Journey", and now I need to read that one again to decide which I like better!!
December 21, 2022
I appreciate that Lois Lenski interviewed, spent time with and worked beside the people she planned to write about. I'm enjoying this youth series and plan to read more of them.
August 18, 2024
C+. fiction, children's fiction, historical fiction; lif of a migrant girl and her family who pick cotton
December 26, 2024
I enjoyed this story of Joanda and her sharecropper family picking cotton in Arkansas and living payday to payday, struggling to get ahead.
February 14, 2017
I read this book at a pre-teen back in the 70s and adored it. I probably re-read it 5 times. I remember being so enthralled with the story and how this little girl lived....so different from me. I have never forgotten the story despite 40 years having passed. And I count this book as one of the ones that made me fall in love with ready.
May 31, 2013
Now this is about the lowest kind of book I like to read. There's serious stuff in here, but through the whole thing the direction is looking up. It still kind of depressed me to read, but this is in a whole different class from too many other kid books. It did seem to meander more than other Lenski books I've read, with several stories all being told at the same time instead of everything wrapping up nicely in one incident. That's usually okay with me, but here it did seem a little stranger than normal.
February 8, 2014
A children's story set in Arkansas, written in 1949.
A sharecropper family learns the value of saving money, neighborly help, and caring for their possessions, in spite of setbacks like fires, heart attacks and near drownings. They move from apathy, indulgence and despair to the dignity of ownership and self improvement.
All this is put in language children can understand, which is its strength.
Lenski is weak in smooth and engaging prose and dialogue. Transitions are choppy.
4 stars for content, two for style.
A sharecropper family learns the value of saving money, neighborly help, and caring for their possessions, in spite of setbacks like fires, heart attacks and near drownings. They move from apathy, indulgence and despair to the dignity of ownership and self improvement.
All this is put in language children can understand, which is its strength.
Lenski is weak in smooth and engaging prose and dialogue. Transitions are choppy.
4 stars for content, two for style.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews