num_pages: 32
description: This is a large (8 1/4" x 10 3/4") paperback book, beautifully illustrated in watercolor on Arches paper. It is wartime, and "colored women" are being hired in Chicago to fill in for the men who are off fighting. Ada Ruth is left with her grandmother while her mother takes a job washing trains. Ada Ruth watches for the postman and adopts a stray cat to fill the endless days until her mother finally writes that she will be "coming on home soon." It's a gently, almost poetically told story, and the watercolor illustrations are captivating...every time you look at one of them you see something more. I'd give this book a 10 on a scale from 1 to 10 for elementary age students, but it speaks to us older readers as well.
language: English
title: Coming on Home Soon
titlecomplete: Coming on Home Soon
genres: Cultural, World War II, Picture Books, Childrens, African American, Family, War, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Realistic Fiction
ratings_count: 2434
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Caldecott Medal, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Charlotte Zolotow Award
category: Honor Book, awardedAt: 1167638400000
name: California Young Readers Medal
category: Picture Books for Older Readers
publisher: Scholastic, Inc.