Mama's Window

by Lynn Rubright

After his mother dies, Sugar Martin is sent to live with his gruff uncle Free, a crippled loner who makes his living fishing in a swamp in the Mississippi Delta in the early 1900s. After his mother dies, Sugar Martin is sent to live with his gruff uncle Free, a crippled loner who makes his living fishing in a swamp in the Mississippi Delta in the early 1900s. As Sugar struggles to adjust to his new surroundings, the only bright spot in his life is watching the building of the new Sweet Kingdom Church, which will be adorned with a beautiful stained glass window his mother had scrimped and saved for. One day Sugar discovers that the money for Mama's window is being spent for the construction of the church itself. Devastated but unwilling to give up on his mother's dream, Sugar finds affirmation and support where he least expects it. With compelling characters and a rich sense of place, Mama's Window is ultimately a moving story of hope, dreams, and finding a place to call home. With an afterword by Patricia McKissack.

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2005

Reviews

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This touching tale of a boy's commitment to his mother's dream of a stained glass window in their new church along the swamps of the Mississippi River will touch your spirit. James Earle loses his mother when he is only 12 and goes to live deep in the swamps with his Uncle "Free." But James is determined to continue his mother's dream of raising the money for the stained glass window. His mama's dream becomes food for the soul for all of the church members when James Earl won't give up.

[Roshell · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd- 4th
Problem Solving
Author's perspective
Conflict
Death

I love the pictures, the realness, and the uncle in the book. The uncle didn't say much in the story just watched Sugar. Sugar has a problem, read to see what his problem was and how did his uncle help him through it?

[Aamiyiah]

I want to read this book ok this aamiyiah

[NS - Cami Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade 3-6–James Earle Sugar Martin's mother has been dead for six months when this story begins. By her request, he is now living with her brother, a disabled loner. The two of them reside in a one-room shack in the Mississippi Delta and Uncle Free makes his living by fishing the waters of the swamp. He doesn't speak much, and when he does, he sounds gruff and short. Yet, as time goes by, his guidance is firm, gentle, kind, and patient. The story is loosely based on the childhood experiences of Reverend Owen H. Whitfield, an African-American sharecropper, preacher, and union organizer in Arkansas during the 1930s. At the heart of the story is the fact that Sugar's mother had taken on extra work to save money specifically for a stained-glass window when the new church is built. When funds fall short, the building committee decides to use the funds to buy bricks instead. Sugar's keen disappointment and his abiding faith in his mother's dream eventually cause church members to rethink what is important. Rubright's sentences are descriptive, yet never overwhelming; paragraphs are kept short, and the pace is swift–all elements that draw in even the most reluctant readers. The book is simple in style and layout, with plenty of white space and a few small black-and-white illustrations.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meet "Sugar," a young boy who lives in the bayou with his uncle. Now meet his uncle who took on the charge his sister gave to him after her death, the care of "Sugar." This is both a coming of age story (Sugar's coming-of-age) along with a story of life and renewal.

Sugar has to learn a new life as he is now living with his uncle -- and his mother is no longer in this world. One of her mantras was that we should all look for the beauty in our world around us. And part of what she wanted to continue that beauty, and share it, was a stained glass window for their new church.

Well, they finish building the church and decide the church will hold up better if it is made with bricks. Done. So... what is going to happen to "Mama's window?"

This is a sweet book for a young school child. You should read it. It's got a good lesson that we all can learn and carry forward in life!

[Ronnie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think its good that he is starting to know his uncle better .