Book Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Goin' Someplace Special

Goin' Someplace Special is a book written by Patricia C. McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. This is a poignant story of growing up in the segregated South in the 1950s. Tricia Ann knows a special place in her southern town where all people are welcome no matter what their skin color. When Tricia Ann's grandmother thinks she's old enough to go to Someplace Special by herself, she hurries to catch the bus heading downtown. She must sit in the back of the bus behind the Jim Crow sign, unlike the white passengers. On her journey to Someplace Special, Tricia sees hurtful signs and hears painful comments. However, there are friends along the way that help remind her that she is not alone on her trip. Words of encouragement echo in her mind that her grandmother says about her being "somebody." Finally Tricia Ann makes it downtown to her Someplace Special, which is a tall building that has a sign in the front that says "PUBLIC LIBRARY: ALL ARE WELCOME." After the end of the story, the author states that this is a fictional story based on her life. I think this is a very good story to illustrate to children about how segregation took place in our country. I loved the message this story conveys that "reading is the doorway to freedom."

Jerry Pinkney's detailed watercolors are beautiful in this book. He is the only illustrator to have won the Coretta Scott King Award four times. He has also received four Caldecott Honor Medals. Some of the other books that Jerry Pinkney has illustrated include: Mirandy and Brother Wind, The Talking Eggs, The Patchwork Quilt, Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman.