Crossing Bok Chitto: a Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom
by Tim Tingle (Author) Jeanne Rorex Bridges (Illustrator)
There is a river called Bok Chitto that cuts through Mississippi. In the days before the War Between the States, in the days before the Trail of Tears, Bok Chitto was a boundary. On one side of the river lived the Choctaws. On the other side lived the plantation owners and their slaves. If a slave escaped and made his way across Bok Chitto, the slave was free.
Thus begins Crossing Bok Chitto, told by award-winning Choctaw storyteller Tim Tingle and brought to life with the rich illustrations of Jeanne Rorex Bridges.
Martha Tom, a young Choctaw girl, knows better than to cross Bok Chitto, but one day--in search of blackberries--she disobeys her mother and finds herself on the other side. A tall slave discovers Martha Tom. A friendship begins between Martha Tom and the slave's family, most particularly his young son, Little Mo. Soon afterwards, Little Mo's mother finds out that she is going to be sold. The situation seems hopeless, except that Martha Tom teaches Little Mo's family how to walk on water to their freedom.
Choctaw storyteller Tim Tingle blends songs, cedar flute, and drum with tribal lore to bring the lore of the Choctaw Nation to life in lively historical, personal, and traditional stories. His collection of stories Walking the Choctaw Road was selected as the Oklahoma Book of the Year.
Artist Jeanne Rorex Bridges traces her heritage back to her Cherokee ancestors. Crossing Bok Chitto is her first fully illustrated book.
Locate at a Library Near You WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online.
Find books about:
Publishers Weekly
Bridges, a Cherokee artist making her children's book debut, joins Tingle ("Walking the Choctaw Road") in a moving and wholly original story about the intersection of cultures. The river Bok Chitto divides the Choctaw nation from the plantations of Mississippi. "If a slave escaped and made his way across Bok Chitto, the slave was free," writes Tingle, "The slave owner could not follow. That was the law." But Bok Chitto holds a secret: a rock pathway that lies just below the surface of the water. "Only the Choctaws knew it was there, for the Choctaws had built it," Tingle explains. When a slave boy and his family are befriended by a Choctaw girl, the pathway becomes part of an ingenious plan that enables the slaves to cross the river to freedom -in plain view of a band of slave hunters during a full moon. Bridges creates mural-like paintings with a rock-solid spirituality and stripped-down graphic sensibility, the ideal match for the down-to-earth cadences and poetic drama of the text. Many of the illustrations serve essentially as portraits, and they're utterly mesmerizing -strong, solid figures gaze squarely out of the frame, beseeching readers to listen, empathize and wonder. Ages 5-up. "(Apr.)"
Copyright 2006 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.
School Library Journal
Gr 2-6 -Dramatic, quiet, and warming, this is a story of friendship across cultures in 1800s Mississippi. While searching for blackberries, Martha Tom, a young Choctaw, breaks her village -s rules against crossing the Bok Chitto. She meets and becomes friends with the slaves on the plantation on the other side of the river, and later helps a family escape across it to freedom when they hear that the mother is to be sold. Tingle is a performing storyteller, and his text has the rhythm and grace of that oral tradition. It will be easily and effectively read aloud. The paintings are dark and solemn, and the artist has done a wonderful job of depicting all of the characters as individuals, with many of them looking out of the page right at readers. The layout is well designed for groups as the images are large and easily seen from a distance. There is a note on modern Choctaw culture, and one on the development of this particular work. This is a lovely story, beautifully illustrated, though the ending requires a somewhat large leap of the imagination." -Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NY"
Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
"In a picture book that highlights rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage, a noted Choctaw storyteller and Cherokee artist join forces with stirring results the story [has a] powerful impact on young readers." Booklist, starred review
"Crossing Bok Chitto tells a tale with a happier ending, but its journey is no less a departure from the narrative of American uplift. In literature for children, this is a lesson as old as the Grimms. But these realities cut deeper than any fantasy." The New York Times
"Tingle is a performing storyteller, and his text has the rhythm and grace of that oral tradition. It will be easily and effectively read aloud. The paintings are dark and solemn, and the artist has done a wonderful job of depicting all of the characters as individuals, with many of them looking out of the page right at readers." School Library Journal
"A moving and wholly original story about the intersection of cultures Bridges creates mural-like paintings with a rock-solid spirituality and stripped-down graphic sensibility, the ideal match for the down-to-earth cadences and poetic drama of the text." Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Crossing Bok Chitto is very highly recommended for all young readers as a celebration of diversity, acceptance, and unity in a remarkable production of expert authorship and invaluable illustrations." Midwest Book Review, starred review
"A very moving story about friends helping each other and reveals a lesser-known part of American History: Native Americans helped runaway slaves...While, this is a picture book; it would make a wonderful read-aloud for middle elementary students." Children's Literature"
Tim Tingle is an Oklahoma Choctaw, an award-winning storyteller, and the author of more than twenty books for children, teenagers, and adults. His titles have been recognized by the American Indian Youth Literature Award four times and nominated for numerous state awards. He received his master's degree from the University of Oklahoma with a focus in American Indian Studies. Tingle lives in Texas. Visit his website at timtingle.com.
Jeanne Rorex Bridges traces her heritage back to Cherokee ancestors. Her work is nationally known and has won many awards in Native American art shows, including the 2005 Best of Show at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. Crossing Bok Chitto is her first children's book, for which she was named Oklahoma Illustrator of the Year in 2007. She lives in eastern Oklahoma, and you can find her website at rorexbridgesstudio.com.
19th century
Friendship
Slavery
Indians of North America
Friendship in children
Mississippi
Choctaw Indians
