Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Aug. 1, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 22))
As in their award-winning picture book The Other Side (2001), Woodson and Lewis tell a moving historical story of longing and separation. The setting here is the home front during World War II, and Ada Ruth's mama leaves to find work in the city ("They're hiring colored women in Chicago since all the men are off fighting in the war"). At home with Grandma, Ada Ruth holds on to memories of Mama's love and writes to her. Times are hard, and for a long time "no letter or money coming." Ada Ruth takes in a stray kitten, and even though Grandma says they can't keep it, Ada Ruth does, and its purring softness is big and warm on her lap. The race, class, and gender struggle is part of the larger drama ("A colored woman working on the railroad!"), but for Ada Ruth, it's the waiting, quietly expressed in her simple, poetic first-person narrative. Lewis' beautiful watercolors establish the setting, not the South this time, but a spacious rural landscape with snow and icy storms, and inside, the loving portrayals of the women in warm, neat rooms with an empty chair. Period and place are wonderfully specific; the yearning is timeless. Category: Books for the Young--Fiction. 2004, Putnam, $16.99. K-Gr. 3. Starred Review

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
During World War II, Ruth's mama reluctantly leaves her with her grandmother to go to Chicago where she can earn money. Ruth keeps writing to her, but is distresses as the time passes with no word. Times are hard. Ruth watches the snow fall and pets a stray kitten they really can't afford to feed, fighting back tears as she waits while the cold days go by. She realizes that her mother is lucky enough to get a chance to work as a black woman because of the war. There is joy when a letter full of both money and love finally arrives, along with the promise of "coming on home soon." There's a poetic feeling in the text which is partnered in Lewis's full-page and vignette watercolors. He creates the hominess of the rural setting, but it is his portraits of the three women which mainly carry the strong sense of generational love and faith in the future. He handles his medium with conviction, particularly in controlling the light in each scene to enhance the narrative flow. These are real people; the illustrations invite us to know them. 2004, GP Putnam's Sons, $16.99. Ages 4 to 8.

Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
The ache that fills a child when their parent is away from them is beautifully depicted in this story set during World War II. Ada Ruth's mama has gone off to Chicago to work on the railroad to earn money to send home to Ada and her Grandma. Ada Ruth is proud of her mama but that ache just won't go away. The lyrical refrain--coming on home soon--reassures Ada Ruth and the reader as we wait for Mama's return with her. Lewis' watercolors are the perfect complement to this poetic story. At once striking and soft, the warmth of Grandma's all encompassing arms spills from each page. This is a perfect book for children who are separated from their parents, whatever the reason. 2004, Putnam, $16.99. Ages 7 to 10.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2005)
Ada Ruth stays with her grandmother while her mother heads up to Chicago to work. Although she feels at home with grandma, Ada Ruth misses her mother terribly. She keeps waiting for the letter from her that tells them she will be “coming on home soon.” As the days go by slowly, Ada Ruth begins to realize that her grandmother misses her mother as mush as she does. Set during World War II, Jacqueline Woodson’s poetic text is filled with longing, while E. B. Lewis’s realistic watercolor paintings give a sense of the immense loneliness both Ada Ruth and her grandmother feel. CCBC categories: Picture Books for School-Aged Children. 2004, Putnam, 32 pages, $16.99. Ages 5-8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 18))
In a perfect pairing with Woodson's text, Lewis manages to make his rich watercolors glow with the light of memory in a simple story of another time of war. His figures and objects fill the real space they inhabit, however, and appear fully present in our consciousness. Ada Ruth misses her mama, who has gone off to work cleaning railroad cars in Chicago. During WWII, when the men were fighting, women were needed to work-even, as Ada Ruth's mother says, colored women. When a starving kitten comes to their door, Ada's grandmother doesn't see how they can keep it, but puts down a saucer of milk just the same. The narrative is filled with quietness: as the snow falls; as Ada and Grandma wait for the mail that will bring news and money; as the kitten insinuates itself into mealtimes, skimpy or not. Longing, loneliness, pride, and doing what needs to be done shine off the pages and into the hearts of readers. 2004, Putnam, 32p, $16.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 8. Starred Review. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 6))
World War II affords Ada Ruth’s mother new employment opportunities, so she heads off to Chicago to work on the railroads while her daughter stays in the country with Grandma. Grandma promises that Mama will be “coming on home soon,” but Ada Ruth misses her mother terribly; as the snowy winter settles in and still no letters arrive from Mama, the little girl relies on her thoughts of Mama and on the warm companionship of a stray kitten, despite Grandma’s warning that the kitten won’t be staying. The text’s trajectory moves with sureness through Ada Ruth’s anxiety to Grandma’s softening toward the kitten and Mama’s happy return; the inevitability of the conclusion means it won’t surprise grownups, but there’s still plenty of tension in Ada Ruth’s momsickness that’s earned her an ending of joy and wishes granted (though Mama seems to have little reason beyond narrative suspense for her failure to write). Woodson’s spare lyricism resists sentimentalizing, with the text focusing instead on understated specifics and matter-of-fact exposition. The always illustratively eloquent Lewis reaches a rare peak here. Evocative portraiture steeped in realism imbues Grandma’s face with strength and love and Ada Ruth’s wiry little form with longing (though one of the most moving images is Grandma and Ada Ruth, followed by the determined kitten, viewed from the back as they trudge through the snow); delicate mottles in the earthtoned palette convey the well-scrubbed textures of the wooden house, with the snug and protected interiors contrasting with the wide white-blanketed landscapes. This begs for an intergenerational readaloud, and as a family-focused historical story with a palpable plot, it could serve as an inducement for the sharing of more personal family stories. Review Code: R* -- Denotes books of special distinction. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Putnam, 32p, $16.99. Ages 5-8 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2005)
When Mama goes north to Chicago to earn money while the men are fighting in World War II, Ada Ruth must stay home with Grandma, trying hard to be brave. Story line here is spare; this is all about feelings and relationships, and Woodson's gently evocative words are expressively developed in Lewis's watercolors. Lewis captures both people and place with great warmth and humanity. Category: Picture Books. 2004, Putnam, 32pp, 16.99. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.