Rhodes, Jewell Parker. Will’s Race for Home. Olga and Aleksey Ivanov, Illus. Little, Brown, 01/2025. 196pp. Fiction. Trade $17.99. 978-0-316-29933-6. GRADES 3–6. OUTSTANDING.
Will and his father journey to participate in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 in this compelling historical novel focusing on a Black family. Along the way they befriend a Black former Civil War Union soldier, Caesar, who becomes an ally on the trip. The story offers accurate details of the trip, from a hazardous river crossing, to danger from former Confederate vigilantes, to the fraught race for a free homestead parcel. The text is relatively easy to read, with brief chapters told from Will’s point of view in clipped sentences. There are full-page pencil sketches every few chapters to break up the text, which will motivate reluctant readers. This will be great for upper elementary classes studying US history and for those who enjoy prairie and Westward movement stories, especially from a non-white perspective.
Penny Peck—San José State University, iSchool