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Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir – A Coretta Scott King Honor Book About Growing Up African-American for Children
From the legendary children's book writer Eloise Greenfield comes the beautiful C oretta Scott King Honor-winning middle grade memoir written in collaboration with her mother and grandmother and illustrated by award-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney. Three generations of African-American women remember their "childtimes" in this lyrical memoir spanning a century of American history. This book preserves the lives and communities of times past for future generations. Complete with a family tree, photos from the authors' family albums, and drawings by Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney, Eloise Greenfield and Lessie Jones Little's Childtimes beautifully captures the experiences of grandmother, mother, and daughter as they recall moments from their childhood. "The intimate details of loving and growing up and the honesty with which they are told will involve all readers, both white and black, and broaden their understanding of this country's recent past." — School Library Journal
179 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
16 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Eloise Greenfield
74 books54 followersGreenfield was born Eloise Little in Parmele, North Carolina, and grew up in Washington, D.C., during the Great Depression in the Langston Terrace housing project, which provided a warm childhood experience for her.[1] She was the second oldest of five children of Weston W. Little and his wife Lessie Blanche (née Jones) Little (1906–1986). A shy and studious child, she loved music and took piano lessons.[2][3] Greenfield experienced racism first-hand in the segregated southern U.S., especially when she visited her grandparents in North Carolina and Virginia.[4] She graduated from Cardozo Senior High School in 1946 and attended Miner Teachers College until 1949. In her third year, however, she found that she was too shy to be a teacher and dropped out.[5]
Greenfield began work in the civil service at the U.S. Patent Office. In 1950, she married World War II veteran Robert J. Greenfield, a long-time friend. She began writing poetry and songs in the 1950s while working at the Patent Office, finally succeeding in getting her first poem published in the Hartford Times in 1962 after many years of writing and submitting poetry and stories.[6] After joining the District of Columbia Black Writers Workshop in 1971, she began to write books for children. She has published more than 40 children's books, including picture books, novels, poetry and biographies. She says that she seeks to "choose and order words that children will celebrate".[5][7]
Dismayed by the depiction of blacks and black communities in popular media, Greenfield has focused her work on realistic but positive portrayals of African-American communities, families and friendships.[1] These relationships are emphasized in Sister (1974) a young girl copes with the death of a parent with the help of other family members, Me and Nessie (1975) about best friends, My Daddy and I (1991) and Big Friend, Little Friend (1991) about mentoring.[5] Her first book, Bubbles (1972), "sets the tone for much of Greenfield's later work: Realistic portrayals of loving African American parents working hard to provide for their families, and the children who face life's challenges with a positive outlook."[1] In She Come Bringing Me that Little Baby Girl (1974), a boy deals with feelings of envy and learns to share his parents' love when his baby sister arrives. The poignant Alesia (1981) concerns the bravery of a girl handicapped by a childhood accident. Night on Neighborhood Street (1991) is a collection of poems depicting everyday life in an urban community. One of her best-known books, Honey I Love, first published in 1978, is a collection of poems for people of all ages concerning the daily lives and loving relationships of children and families. Her semi-autobiographical book Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir (1979) describes her happy childhood in a neighborhood with strong positive relationships.[5] In the introduction to that book, she explains her interest in biography:
People are a part of their time. They are affected, during the time that they live by the things that happen in their world. Big things and small things. A war, an invention such as radio or television, a birthday party, a kiss. All of these help to shape the present and the future. If we could know more about our ancestors, about the experiences they had when they were children, and after they had grown up, too, we would know much more about what has shaped us and our world.[8]
In 1971, Greenfield began work for the District of Columbia Black Writers' Workshop, as co-director of adult fiction and then, in 1973, as director of children's literature. That group's goal was to encourage the writing and publishing of African-American literature. She was writer-in-residence at the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 1985-86 and taught creative writing in schools under grants from the Commission. She has also lectured and given free workshops on writing of African-American children's
Greenfield began work in the civil service at the U.S. Patent Office. In 1950, she married World War II veteran Robert J. Greenfield, a long-time friend. She began writing poetry and songs in the 1950s while working at the Patent Office, finally succeeding in getting her first poem published in the Hartford Times in 1962 after many years of writing and submitting poetry and stories.[6] After joining the District of Columbia Black Writers Workshop in 1971, she began to write books for children. She has published more than 40 children's books, including picture books, novels, poetry and biographies. She says that she seeks to "choose and order words that children will celebrate".[5][7]
Dismayed by the depiction of blacks and black communities in popular media, Greenfield has focused her work on realistic but positive portrayals of African-American communities, families and friendships.[1] These relationships are emphasized in Sister (1974) a young girl copes with the death of a parent with the help of other family members, Me and Nessie (1975) about best friends, My Daddy and I (1991) and Big Friend, Little Friend (1991) about mentoring.[5] Her first book, Bubbles (1972), "sets the tone for much of Greenfield's later work: Realistic portrayals of loving African American parents working hard to provide for their families, and the children who face life's challenges with a positive outlook."[1] In She Come Bringing Me that Little Baby Girl (1974), a boy deals with feelings of envy and learns to share his parents' love when his baby sister arrives. The poignant Alesia (1981) concerns the bravery of a girl handicapped by a childhood accident. Night on Neighborhood Street (1991) is a collection of poems depicting everyday life in an urban community. One of her best-known books, Honey I Love, first published in 1978, is a collection of poems for people of all ages concerning the daily lives and loving relationships of children and families. Her semi-autobiographical book Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir (1979) describes her happy childhood in a neighborhood with strong positive relationships.[5] In the introduction to that book, she explains her interest in biography:
People are a part of their time. They are affected, during the time that they live by the things that happen in their world. Big things and small things. A war, an invention such as radio or television, a birthday party, a kiss. All of these help to shape the present and the future. If we could know more about our ancestors, about the experiences they had when they were children, and after they had grown up, too, we would know much more about what has shaped us and our world.[8]
In 1971, Greenfield began work for the District of Columbia Black Writers' Workshop, as co-director of adult fiction and then, in 1973, as director of children's literature. That group's goal was to encourage the writing and publishing of African-American literature. She was writer-in-residence at the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 1985-86 and taught creative writing in schools under grants from the Commission. She has also lectured and given free workshops on writing of African-American children's
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 20, 2021
4/15/2021 Wound up reading the entire book through to figure out why my kid couldn't complete his school assignment on it. Turns out, it wasn't due to either him or this terrific book. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
4/20/2021 Background on why I picked up this book: apparently, it was one of the three selections available to my 10 year-old for an autobiography reading assignment he had for school. I'm not sure how he wound up with this book instead of the other two, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is that he had a really tough time answering the questions about it, typing in bizarre tautologies instead of thoughtful responses when he could even come up with anything, and I was at my wit's end as to why... until I despairingly picked up Childtimes to skim through for answers/page numbers and found that a large portion of the assignment questions were completely irrelevant to the book!
My best friend, on hearing me rant about generic questions that don't seem to understand the material they're examining, wryly noted that it seemed pretty early for class material to be teaching my kid how to bullshit his way through assignments: save that for college, no? But after I'd gotten poor Jms sorted with his homework -- we left the tautologies as is: if teacher is going to ask irrelevant questions, teacher should expect ludicrous answers -- I figured that since I'd already scanned through the book twice, I might as well sit down and read it through properly, my own crushing reading schedule be damned. And I'm so glad I got to read this, because it is a truly wonderful look at the lives of three generations of Black women growing up in late 19th to mid 20th century America.
Beautifully illustrated with black and white line drawings by Jerry Pinkney, as well as with old photographs of several of the people from its pages, the book describes scenes from the childhoods, or "childtimes" as they call it, of Pattie Ridley Jones, her eldest daughter Lessie Jones Little, and her granddaughter Eloise Greenfield. Ms Jones' section, while told in the first person, was lovingly put together by Ms Little and Ms Greenfield from manuscripts, their own memories of her stories as well as interviews with other people who knew her. Born in 1884, Ms Jones' narrative describes growing up in North Carolina and all the good and bad of her childhood, including tales of her own mother. Ms Little's section continues the story of their family from her childhood perspective, covering World War I and the Spanish influenza pandemic as well as the ups and downs of her parents' marriage. Ms Greenfield's third of the book describes her family's move to Washington DC while she was still a kid, and how hunger and World War II affected them and their neighbors.
Overall, it's a moving yet understated portrait of three generations of strong Black women who loved their communities and loved to read. It's telling how the incidents of racism the women went through are described in such a way as to make clear the harm that was perpetrated on them and their communities, without descending into the pain porn that's becoming grotesquely prevalent in recent media on the topic. While this lack of luridness may be explained away as choosing to present things in a way suitable for young readers, somehow thus blunting their harshness, I'd argue that only a real asshole could come away from reading this book without feeling affected and outraged by the injustices, no matter the reader's age.
On a more personal note, I loved reading about DC back in the day, especially since I adored living in Rosedale and Kingman Park as a young woman, bride and new mother. It was quite exciting to show Jms on Google Maps where we'd lived in relation to some of the events in the book, even if I had to send in a correction to the website afterwards as to where Langston Terrace actually is. I still miss living in my small Kingman Park townhome, two blocks from the library and a short walk or even shorter ride to a multitude of dining and entertainment experiences, but we were outgrowing our house and couldn't afford the space we needed in the area.
Going back to Childtimes, I highly recommend this book for readers of all ages looking for an accessible, relatively quick read that effectively communicates what life was like for young African-American women and their families from the 1880s to the 1950s. Yes, there is racism and poverty and hunger, but there is also joy and community and love. Childtimes is a book about real people, written honestly by the people themselves. For novice readers, it's also a delightful introduction to shifting narrative structures without excess complexity.
Childtimes by Eloise Greenfield and Lessie Jones Little was published January 1 1979 by Crowell and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!. Want it now? For the Kindle version, click here.
4/20/2021 Background on why I picked up this book: apparently, it was one of the three selections available to my 10 year-old for an autobiography reading assignment he had for school. I'm not sure how he wound up with this book instead of the other two, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is that he had a really tough time answering the questions about it, typing in bizarre tautologies instead of thoughtful responses when he could even come up with anything, and I was at my wit's end as to why... until I despairingly picked up Childtimes to skim through for answers/page numbers and found that a large portion of the assignment questions were completely irrelevant to the book!
My best friend, on hearing me rant about generic questions that don't seem to understand the material they're examining, wryly noted that it seemed pretty early for class material to be teaching my kid how to bullshit his way through assignments: save that for college, no? But after I'd gotten poor Jms sorted with his homework -- we left the tautologies as is: if teacher is going to ask irrelevant questions, teacher should expect ludicrous answers -- I figured that since I'd already scanned through the book twice, I might as well sit down and read it through properly, my own crushing reading schedule be damned. And I'm so glad I got to read this, because it is a truly wonderful look at the lives of three generations of Black women growing up in late 19th to mid 20th century America.
Beautifully illustrated with black and white line drawings by Jerry Pinkney, as well as with old photographs of several of the people from its pages, the book describes scenes from the childhoods, or "childtimes" as they call it, of Pattie Ridley Jones, her eldest daughter Lessie Jones Little, and her granddaughter Eloise Greenfield. Ms Jones' section, while told in the first person, was lovingly put together by Ms Little and Ms Greenfield from manuscripts, their own memories of her stories as well as interviews with other people who knew her. Born in 1884, Ms Jones' narrative describes growing up in North Carolina and all the good and bad of her childhood, including tales of her own mother. Ms Little's section continues the story of their family from her childhood perspective, covering World War I and the Spanish influenza pandemic as well as the ups and downs of her parents' marriage. Ms Greenfield's third of the book describes her family's move to Washington DC while she was still a kid, and how hunger and World War II affected them and their neighbors.
Overall, it's a moving yet understated portrait of three generations of strong Black women who loved their communities and loved to read. It's telling how the incidents of racism the women went through are described in such a way as to make clear the harm that was perpetrated on them and their communities, without descending into the pain porn that's becoming grotesquely prevalent in recent media on the topic. While this lack of luridness may be explained away as choosing to present things in a way suitable for young readers, somehow thus blunting their harshness, I'd argue that only a real asshole could come away from reading this book without feeling affected and outraged by the injustices, no matter the reader's age.
On a more personal note, I loved reading about DC back in the day, especially since I adored living in Rosedale and Kingman Park as a young woman, bride and new mother. It was quite exciting to show Jms on Google Maps where we'd lived in relation to some of the events in the book, even if I had to send in a correction to the website afterwards as to where Langston Terrace actually is. I still miss living in my small Kingman Park townhome, two blocks from the library and a short walk or even shorter ride to a multitude of dining and entertainment experiences, but we were outgrowing our house and couldn't afford the space we needed in the area.
Going back to Childtimes, I highly recommend this book for readers of all ages looking for an accessible, relatively quick read that effectively communicates what life was like for young African-American women and their families from the 1880s to the 1950s. Yes, there is racism and poverty and hunger, but there is also joy and community and love. Childtimes is a book about real people, written honestly by the people themselves. For novice readers, it's also a delightful introduction to shifting narrative structures without excess complexity.
Childtimes by Eloise Greenfield and Lessie Jones Little was published January 1 1979 by Crowell and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!. Want it now? For the Kindle version, click here.
January 24, 2025
5 STAR BABY
This is absolutely a fav for meeeeee
I love it!!
A little bit about it:
It takes about how life was hard in the eighteen-nineteen hundreds
How they did things /wars,segregation,and racism
How I feel:
Segregation was a bad thing and didn’t even make sense!
It’s a great book to learn about how things where done back then
Questions:
…why did they move houses so much?
…why where black people judged by their skin and not their personality?
…why did they have so much people in their family?
Hopefully these are later to be answered by other fellow readers😁
Ok goodbye preppy’s 🎀!
their are more reviews to come
By: miles Hancock
This is absolutely a fav for meeeeee
I love it!!
A little bit about it:
It takes about how life was hard in the eighteen-nineteen hundreds
How they did things /wars,segregation,and racism
How I feel:
Segregation was a bad thing and didn’t even make sense!
It’s a great book to learn about how things where done back then
Questions:
…why did they move houses so much?
…why where black people judged by their skin and not their personality?
…why did they have so much people in their family?
Hopefully these are later to be answered by other fellow readers😁
Ok goodbye preppy’s 🎀!
their are more reviews to come
By: miles Hancock
April 28, 2008
I read this with my son for his biography report and found it quite interesting; especially the DC references.
July 31, 2024
I love books like this! There is a family tree in the front and primary source photograghs throughout the books with names and dates for the photos. What a treasure to read and learn about humanity, especially for friends and members of this family! It makes me want to know more about my families past. It's an easy read that I highly recommend!
October 5, 2022
I really enjoyed this, they drank Postum as kids instead of coffee and so did I. weird to see the word Postum mentioned in a book. I love the photographs and the simple story telling. It really was like we were sitting on the porch and the adults were telling stories how things were in their day.
May 30, 2025
In Parmele, North Carolina there lives three generations. Mama , Papa, grandmama, Eloise, Lessie, Clara, and John. John got it by a snake at school running throw the bushes with his friend and he survived. Grandmama died and the book doesn't say how she died.
June 17, 2025
I had read this book years ago and picked it up again at a book sale. Now I have my own copy. and can re-read it any time I want to. Wouldn't it be fascinating if every family would write such a memoir and share it with the younger generation!
March 21, 2020
This was a fun, interesting and informative journey through the eyes of a female member of the same African-American family spanning 3 generations.
July 7, 2021
Collection of poignant poems from the early 1900s.
August 17, 2021
i love this book!!! my girlfriend is gerald’s great-granddaughter, so this is incredibly special to me and i’m glad i got to read the stories of her family before her
February 13, 2023
so glad i got this at the thrift store
July 18, 2014
"Memory is a funny thing. You never know how it's going to act" (7).
Part storytelling, part "lyrical memoir", and part family history, Greenfield's _Childtimes_ brings together the brief memories of three women: Pattie Frances Ridley Jones (born in 1884 and Greenfield's grandmother), Lessie Blanche Jones Little (born in 1906 and her mother) and of herself - Eloise Glynn Little Greenfield (born 1929). Like memories - which are often fragmented bits of one's history, sometimes focusing on big events while other times focusing on what might appear to others as mundane or unimportant happenings - each section of this multigenerational memoir is comprised of brief stories, each titled (including "Hot Rolls" "Spanish Flu," "World War Two" and "Doing Laundry") and typically several pages. While this work is often classified as children's literature (perhaps because Greenfield wrote many works for children and the three narrators largely (though not exclusively) focus on their childhoods), their complex narratives and reflections on memory, family, faith, work, racism, and sexism are appropriate and worthwhile reads for young adult and adult readers as well.
There are a few several pencil sketches throughout by Jerry Pinkney that mainly focus on the different settings in which the three girls grew up and accompany Greenfield's description of the landscapes, and there are also several pages of family photographs. Yet, the book is text-heavy, bringing these women's lives to life more through poetic prose than through images.
Overall, this is a well-written and interesting read. I'd recommend it to middle school (5th or 6th grade) readers or to adults who could read the different stories out loud to younger readers.
Part storytelling, part "lyrical memoir", and part family history, Greenfield's _Childtimes_ brings together the brief memories of three women: Pattie Frances Ridley Jones (born in 1884 and Greenfield's grandmother), Lessie Blanche Jones Little (born in 1906 and her mother) and of herself - Eloise Glynn Little Greenfield (born 1929). Like memories - which are often fragmented bits of one's history, sometimes focusing on big events while other times focusing on what might appear to others as mundane or unimportant happenings - each section of this multigenerational memoir is comprised of brief stories, each titled (including "Hot Rolls" "Spanish Flu," "World War Two" and "Doing Laundry") and typically several pages. While this work is often classified as children's literature (perhaps because Greenfield wrote many works for children and the three narrators largely (though not exclusively) focus on their childhoods), their complex narratives and reflections on memory, family, faith, work, racism, and sexism are appropriate and worthwhile reads for young adult and adult readers as well.
There are a few several pencil sketches throughout by Jerry Pinkney that mainly focus on the different settings in which the three girls grew up and accompany Greenfield's description of the landscapes, and there are also several pages of family photographs. Yet, the book is text-heavy, bringing these women's lives to life more through poetic prose than through images.
Overall, this is a well-written and interesting read. I'd recommend it to middle school (5th or 6th grade) readers or to adults who could read the different stories out loud to younger readers.
April 12, 2009
Childtimes, by Eloise Greenfield is another quick read. I really liked this book because it examined the same event from three different point of views. The three narrators allow for different subjective views, which for the reader suprisingly creates less bias. Although the way the memoirs are told are impartial, they are all told from different generations which makes it more difficult for the reader to be subject to bias. The reader is allowed to form his or her own opinion and standpoint in the novel, which to me expands the room a reader has for visualization and opinionating.
I enjoyed this novel because unlike many memoirs who bluntly state the events being portrayed, there was room for reader interpretation. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes memoirs with room for the reader to further contemplate the events.
I enjoyed this novel because unlike many memoirs who bluntly state the events being portrayed, there was room for reader interpretation. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes memoirs with room for the reader to further contemplate the events.
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September 25, 2010This is a beautiful book about the child life of three black women (three generations). It spans from the turn of the century to the great depression. It is a magnificent memoir that journeys the childhood of these three ladies. One entry that caught my attention was entitled Separation. "I was bout eight, I guess, when mama left home. We were still living in Mount Herman then, and she and Papa weren't getting along very well. I didn't know what was wrong, but I knew they weren't getting along." It goes on to say that their mama left all of them but the baby. She was going to Parmele to live with her mother. It is a good book that captivates the audience. I great read.
September 28, 2011
My son and I read this book together for his Language Arts class. It's a three-generation memoir...a quick, easy read. A nice introduction for young readers as to what life was like for black families from about 1880 to World War II. The stories are short and generally informative. A book written for the younger reader, but I enjoyed it, too, mostly because my son and I could have that experience together.
January 10, 2012
This book is a great insight to three generations of black women during their childhood and while growing up. I loved the different aspects and events in each women's life and it gives you a small glimpse of what their overall family life was like. This is a book written for young adults, but I enjoyed it as well because of the historical content. It's an overall fast and enjoyable read!
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April 16, 2016
i found this book by chance at one of my local used bookstores. glad i did. it was a super quick read but i really liked it. it's the story of three women in a family. three different generations. there's lots of interesting stuff in there and pictures, too. it's written as if the women are actually just maybe having a conversation with you and i like that. it's supposed to be a children's book, but to me it was more.
July 14, 2015
Have been reading this off and on since graduate school as it is a perennial "mentor" text for memoir and small moment writing. Reread again this summer in preparation for teaching writing again in the fall. Loved it as much as ever, especially Eloise Greenfield's voice. Worth reading for anyone who is a writer.
December 8, 2007
no book reminds me more of my lifelong love of black history. three different generations of black women recall their experiences growing up. read this as a third-grader. loved it. great for children and adults.
November 30, 2010
A three generation look at life in the south shortly after the Civil War through the modern age. I was so riveted that I stayed up well past my bedtime to finish. Childtimes would make a kid-friendly read aloud to the newest generation of children not familiar with tougher times.
April 16, 2018
Memoirs of 3 generations of black women, but it wasn't really about being black. Lots of good family memories, a preservation of how life was different in different eras. Written in a conversational style, like people sitting around reminiscing. Short and easy to read. A nice, gentle little book.
June 21, 2013
I'm searching memoirs for my seventh grade students to read. I'm not sure there is that much personal reflection; it's more recollection. It was interesting to see the the change over three generations, but I'm not sure the students will enjoy it.
October 4, 2007
It was an O.K. book. Kinda boring.
March 7, 2009
This book was O.K. but switched generations so it was kind of confusing.
April 27, 2011
Great book about black history. I don't like catergorizing a book based on race, so overall this was a wonderful book. Could also be used when teaching students about memoirs.
May 23, 2012
it was good i like how each story was like a chapter.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews