Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom

Beautifully illustrated and powerfully told, Crossing Bok Chitto is a moving tale of friendship - a friendship that traverses, not just the geographical boundary of the Bok Chitto River (also spelled "Bogue Chitto"), but the boundaries of culture and race as well. When Martha Tom, a young Chocktaw girl living in the Mississippi of the early 1800s - before the time of the Trail of Tears, or the coming of the Civil War - wanders across the forbidden Bok Chitto while searching for some blueberries, she is befriended by the members of an underground slave church, and guided back to the river by Little Mo, an African-American boy her own age. A friendship develops as the two children go back and forth across Bok Chitto, and when Little Mo's show more family is faced with a brutal separation, after his mother is sold away, he turns to Martha Tom and her community for help...

This story of a Chocktaw community that aids a runaway slave family in antebellum Mississippi is inspirational, and, according to Tim Tingle's afterword, has been passed down through the generations, in the oral tradition of that community. The illustrations by Cherokee artist Jeanne Rorex Bridges are lovely, with a distinctive folk sensibility that reminded me, at times, of a quilt. Many of the scenes are dominated by somber browns and muted lavenders, but the effect is intense, rather than drab, and makes the appearance of lighter shades - as when the white-garbed Chocktaw women guide Little Mo's family across the river - all the more striking. All in all, Crossing Bok Chitto is an outstanding book, one with strong narrative and aesthetic appeal, and one which explores an important aspect of American history - the interaction between Native American and African-American communities in the South.

That said, while I understand that Tingle is telling a particular story - one in which runaway slaves are sheltered by the Chocktaw - I found myself wondering how all of this this squares, historically speaking, with the fact that some Chocktaw people owned African slaves themselves. The narrative clearly states that, once slaves crossed the Bok Chitto, they were free. Should the reader assume that this only applied to slaves owned by whites? Or perhaps that this particular Chocktaw community didn't include any slave-owners? It's disappointing to see that Tingle's informative afterword, while it does discuss the subsequent Trail of Tears, doesn't mention the more complicated historical record of Chocktaw slave-owning (or the Chocktaw alliance with the Confederacy). It's not that I expect those aspects of the history to take center stage - that isn't the story being told here, after all - but the fact that they were entirely left out of an afterword meant to give historical and cultural background makes me uncomfortable. I don't know that the absence of this more complicated history "ruins" the book (I still gave it four stars, after all!), but it's something I think readers should be aware of... show less

Tells a story that is not well known, about how Choctaw members helped slaves escape, and blended their communities. Beautiful picture book, powerful story.

I really enjoyed this book. It was ironic because moments before we read this book, it was discussed in class that many times, particular pieces of history such as slavery and Native Americans are underrepresented in children’s literature. I liked the point of view. A lot of historical fiction is told from the view of the “white man” but this book took a different approach. It was told from the sides of Martha Tom, a young Choctaw girl, and a slave boy she befriended. This gave readers a glimpse into what life was like for them and how people of their culture felt at the time. I like this book because it had two believable main characters. In the part of the story where the boy’s mother was sold and the family had to flee over show more the river, the readers felt the pain of the family. The book took the readers back in time because it did such a great job developing the characters in such a believable way. Martha Tom and the boy had a friendship that could be relevant during any time period, but the hardships and events they encountered kept it highly relevant to the historical aspect. The main idea was to share the Choctaw Tales of slaves crossing the Bok Chitto River to freedom. It took an actual event that occurred and made its own story from it. A very enjoyable read. show less

This is the story of a young Choctow girl, Martha Tom, who secretly learns how to cross the Bok Chitto River by stepping on a series of submerged stones. She befriends a slave boy who lives on a plantation on the other side of the river. When the boy's mother is sold and about to be sent away forever, the two children bravely band together and courageously save the family and help them escape to freedom. The writing is beautiful, with the poetry and cadences of a superb storyteller. The illustrations gracefully support and develop the story with startling portraits in moody landscapes. The collaboration of the Choctow storyteller and Cherokee artist is a complete success.

I enjoyed this story of people helping people in time of dire need, especially within the context of American history. However, some of the text seemed contradictory to me: Little Mo knows how to cross the river and convinces his father to cross the river, but then says he can't cross it at night. When his father tells him his real name is Moses, he then remembers where the stone path is. Also, I realize the story is written and illustrated by two Native Americans, but it seems to carry with it some of the criticisms of literature about Native Americans, depicting magical elements and people in the past. Either way, the themes and illustrations are beautifully rendered.

Curricular connections: Students could use this book as a starting show more point to learning more about how people helped other people break the shackles of slavery. show less

This is a wonderful story for children to learn more about the Choctaw Native American history and African American history. It describes the family dynamics of each culture that children may be unfamiliar with. The book teaches human decency where each culture helped each other out. This book pushes readers to think about slavery and how things used to be in the past.

The author makes this story so interesting that you feel connected to the characters. A great book to read for students, especially because there are not too many books out there on different cultures.

Crossing Bok Chitto was a good book because of it's content and the execution of the topic. This book talking about the history of the Chocktaw Indian tribe and their relationship with an African American family. Martha Tom and her family helps Little Mo and his family cross Bok Chitto in order to be safe from the white settlers looking to sell his family. Native Americans are rarely portrayed in the children's books so it's a breath of fresh air for this book to be written (and written by a native american author). Also, children will learn a lot from this story; even I didn't know about the relationship that these two groups had in the early years of our country. Also the author didn't try to sugar coat anything about the crossing of show more Bok Chitto; the fact that the story shows lots of ups and downs will show early learners that even if things work out positively in the end, sometimes it takes hard work to get to that point. The big idea of this story is that you can find help in some unexpected places. show less