A Day for Rememberin': Inspired by the True Events of the First Memorial Day written by Leah Henderson, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

 

A Day for Rememberin'

Inspired by the True Events of the First Memorial Day

written by Leah Henderson, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Harry N. Abrams, 2021, 40 pages

Most of us don't really know much about Memorial Day except that it's a time when we honor those who lost their lives in combat defending United States and the democratic principles upon which it was founded. And maybe some of us know that it was originally called Decoration Day, a day when families would go to the cemetery with flags and flowers to place on the graves of their fallen loved ones. But how many of us know about the origin of Memorial Day?

Well, now Leah Henderson has explored this question and has written a picture book for older readers that tells the story of one such origin and has chosen Eli, the ten-year-old son of formerly enslaved parents, as the narrator. It's 1865 and the Civil has ended with the Confederate surrender. And for nine days, Eli has wondered where his Papa goes to so early every day. Eli imagines him doing all kinds of things, but he isn't allowed to follow Papa because he is going to school, and as his mother reminds him, "...you have the hard earned right to learn...Masters locked away learning 'cause knowledge is its own freedom." 

Finally, though, on day ten, Papa wakes Eli up early and they join a procession of other formerly enslaved men and boys and head to the Charleston, South Carolina racetrack, once used for the entertainment white plantation owners. During the Civil War, the racetrack had become a prison where Confederates put captured Union soldiers, who were starved and treated so badly that even the enslaved women would try to sneak the men whatever morsels they could spare. 

Eli discovers that the men have been working to create a cemetery for the 257 dead Union soldiers who had been held in the racetrack. And it's here that Eli has a paintbrush put in his hands to help whitewash a fence with the other children. 

The next day, Eli is up early again, and heads out with his parents to join the procession other Black families heading to the racetrack, now a cemetery. Eli proudly carries the American flag, and the women carry flowers with which to decorate the newly dug graves. 

While this may be a work of historical fiction, the cemetery, called the Martyrs of the Race Track that was created in Charleston, South Carolina by formerly enslaved men, women, and children, is considered by some scholars to be the first observance of Decoration Day, later renamed Memorial Day. In her Author's Note, Henderson writes that she was inspired to write to story after seeing a photograph of about "200 Black children getting ready for what looked like a parade." Curiosity sparked, research led Henderson to the cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina, where she learned that the Decoration Day parade to the former racetrack included over 10,000 newly freed enslaved people were led by about 3,000 Black children. Henderson chose the fictional Eli and his parents to tell their story.

A Day for Rememberin' is such a poignant story about how one community honored the men who they believed fought for them, but also, as Eli reminds readers, about the fear that enslaved people lived with every day, wondering if their loved one would come home at the end of the day, or be sold to someone without their knowing. 

And who better to illustrate this moving, affective story than Floyd Cooper. Using his signature method of oil erasure in earth tones of yellows and browns seems somehow so perfect for this story. The hazy effect of this method doesn't diminish the details and the closeups of people faces really captures their different emotions. 

Besides the Author's Note, back matter includes a short essay on The Roots of Decoration Day, a Timeline of Decoration Day/Memorial Day, a list of other cities claiming to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, Endnotes, and a Select Bibliography. 

David W. Blight a scholar who believes that the birthplace of Decoration Day is Charleston, South Carolina. You can read two of his interesting articles about this HERE and HERE.

Full disclosure: I read a digital watermarked ARC received from the publisher.

This book is recommended for readers age 7+

Rolling Thunder by Kate Messner, illustrated by Greg Ruth

It's Memorial Day weekend, and that means that Rolling Thunder will be in Washington DC. In fact, it is the 32nd Rolling Thunder, and sadly, probably its last. It seems that cost of being there has just gotten to high for these patriots to afford. You can read about it HERE

In honor of the (possibly, but hopefully not) last year of Rolling Thunder, I am republishing my review of Kate Messner's picture book about Rolling Thunder that originally was posted in 2017 on  The Children's War.
                    ***
Early one morning, an excited young boy and his family board a train that will take them to Washington DC, where they will meet up with the boy's grandpa. At the same time, grandpa is kissing his wife goodbye and hopping on his motorcycle, complete with side car, also heading to Washington DC.

It's Memorial Day weekend, time for the annual veteran's Ride for Freedom, and this year, our young narrator is riding with his grandpa, along with over a million other of the nation's veterans, all on their motorcycles. Grandpa is riding for friends Joe and Tom, killed in Vietnam, and his grandson is riding for his Uncle Zach, a pilot flying in a different war.

The weekend begins with camping out with all the veterans, and meeting some of his grandpa's old friends:

Early next morning, everyone is up and ready to go, riding through the streets of Washington DC to honor all veterans and especially to bring awareness to people of those soldiers who are still MIA (Missing in Action) or POWs (Prisoners of War):

The Ride for Freedom ends at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, also simply called the Wall, listing all the names of service members of the Armed Forces who fought and died in Vietnam, as well as those who are still considered to be MIA. After finding a name they want listed on the wall, the narrator makes a charcoal rubbing of it, then there a speeches and memory sharing by different vets:

As the day draws to a close, it is clear that the Ride for Freedom is an important experience between this grandpa and grandson, drawing them closer together in a very meaningful way:

There are all kinds of books available that can teach kids about Memorial Day and its significance and they are certainly important. But I believe Rolling Thunder is the fist book to be written about this special group of veterans.

Messner has written Rolling Thunder in a telegraph-style rhyme, allowing for a great deal of information to be packed into a few well chosen works, and she has really done it well. The mixture of clipped words and slightly longer sentenced also carried the sound of a motorcycle as it revs and rides. At the same time, she has given readers a poignant and emotionally charged narrative.

Greg Ruth has chosen a palette of bright oranges, warm reddish-browns, khaki, and olive greens for his realistic illustrations that manage to reflect the mood and feeling of the book perfectly.

One Memorial Day weekend, we were going to our house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and while waiting for the Cape May-Lewes ferry, our car was suddenly surrounded by motorcycles. It didn't take long to realize it was part of Rolling Thunder on their way to Washington DC. The ferry hadn't arrived yet, and the wait was long, so we socialized with the bikers while we waited and waved goodbye when the ferry docked in Lewes. What a nice bunch of guys! This year the 32nd year Rolling Thunder has been riding to Washington DC to keep the memory of POWs and MIAs alive in the hope of bringing the home someday. It has now expanded to include POWs and MIAs from all wars that the United States has fought in. Will we remember our lost veterans when Rolling Thunder no longer rides for them? I hope not.

This book is recommended for readers age 5+
This book was purchased for my personal library

In Memoriam

FCP 1955-2001

Memorial Day 2015

I posted this a few years ago on my other blog, The Children's War, and thought I would repost it here this year.  

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day.  Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, because it was a time when people would decorate the graves of those soldiers who has fallen in war to honor and remember them. 

In many of the national cemeteries, they still mark all the graves with a flag for this weekend.  This makes me feel good, since my baby brother is buried in one of those cemeteries. 

I always think of the poem "In Flanders Fields" on Memorial Day because I had to learn it in school and never forgot.  The poem has an interesting history.
In 1915, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrea who a poem called "In Flanders Fields" while presiding over the funeral of a fellow fallen soldier who was killed in the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium and buried in Flanders Fields, a field were red poppies grew everywhere.  McCrea was not very happy with the poem he wrote and threw it away, but one of his fellow officers saved it.  It was published in Punch on December 8, 1915. 

In What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? which was broadcast for Memorial Day in 1983, Linus recites "In Flanders Fields" while the Peanuts gang is visiting the cemetery there:

So, if you see a vet selling poppies this weekend, and you decide to buy one, remember that the money goes towards helping needy veterans.  Oh, and by the way, they are made by vet themselves, and although they receive a small amount of money for making poppies, for so many it is their only source of income.

All this being said, have a happy, healthy and safe Memorial Day and have some fun, too.

In Memoriam

FCP 1955-2001

Memorial Day 2014: In Flanders Fields recited by Linus, written by Major Dr. John McCrae

In Memoriam to all those who served and are not longer with us, and a special thank you 

to those still serving their country.