Module 6: Goin' Someplace Special

Summary

‘Tricia Ann is anxious to go to the place she calls “someplace special” all by herself in this 1950s southern town because she knows exactly how to get there. Her mother helps her dress in her most beautiful dress and she catches the bus going downtown where she must sit behind the Jim Crow sign in the back. Each time she encounters a segregation sign, there is somebody there to remind ‘Tricia Ann that she is not alone. When she starts crying and wants to go home early, ‘Tricia Ann meets up with a Blooming Mary, a kind woman who helps her remember her grandmother’s words. “You are somebody, a human being—no better, no worse than anybody else in this world. Getting’ someplace special is not an easy route. But don’t study on quittin’, just keep walking straight ahead—and you’ll make it.” The book culminates as the main character feels joy and acceptance as she reaches the place she has been journeying toward.

Reference

McKissack, P. C. (2001). Goin' someplace special. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

My Impressions

This historical fiction picture book illustrates how people would have felt in the 1950s when segregation was enforced in the south from the main character, ‘Tricia Ann’s point of view. This personalizes the book and helps the reader see what life was like for people who were black while the Jim Crow laws were still in effect. The book’s beautiful, realistic watercolor illustrations add to the story by showing ‘Tricia Ann’s home, family, friends, and the environment in which she lived. It is a believable story that highlights a sad time in our nation’s history and brings it to life for readers of today who may not be aware of the inhumane way people were treated at that time.

Professional Review

McKissack draws from her childhood in Nashville for this instructive picture book. "I don't know if I'm ready to turn you loose in the world," Mama Frances tells her granddaughter when she asks if she can go by herself to "Someplace Special" (the destination remains unidentified until the end of the story). 'Tricia Ann does obtain permission, and begins a bittersweet journey downtown, her pride battered by the indignities of Jim Crow laws. She's ejected from a hotel lobby and snubbed as she walks by a movie theater ("Colored people can't come in the front door," she hears a girl explaining to her brother. "They got to go 'round back and sit up in the Buzzard's Roost"). She almost gives up, but, buoyed by the encouragement of adult acquaintances ("Carry yo'self proud," one of her grandmother's friends tells her from the Colored section on the bus), she finally arrives at Someplace Special—a place Mama Frances calls "a doorway to freedom"—the public library. An afterword explains McKissack's connection to the tale, and by putting such a personal face on segregation she makes its injustices painfully real for her audience. Pinkney's (previously paired with McKissack for Mirandy and Brother Wind) luminescent watercolors evoke the '50s, from fashions to finned cars, and he captures every ounce of 'Tricia Ann's eagerness, humiliation and quiet triumph at the end. Ages 4-8.

Goin' Someplace Special [Review of the book Goin' Someplace Special]. (201, August 6). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-689-81885-1

Library Uses

This would be a great book to read or display as part of February’s Black History month or April’s National Library Week. When using this book for National Library Week, hold the book up on the first day of the week and have the students guess where they think “someplace special” is. Have them write down their responses. Then read the book out loud. Every day a different book about libraries could be read during the week.