Just Us Women

I really enjoyed reading this book because it reminded me of some of my own experiences. However, I thought the plot could have been developed a bit further. As previously said, this book and its characters are very realistic and easy to relate to. Like many people have done, the young girl and her Aunt Martha are planning a road trip; making lists, studying maps, packing lunches, and triple-checking everything. The illustrations of this book are exceptional and add so much detail to the story, my favorite example being on page 17. On this page are different family members (intentionally not invited on the road trip) showing their frustration and dislike for stopping on road trips. The illustration clearly shows hands waving in the air, show more heads shaking, and hands moving from hips to a scornful point. This was something I found very interesting because it is not common that i see an artist capture movement so well, and it really enhances why the girl and her Aunt chose to travel alone; for freedom to stop wherever and whenever they please. I think the bigger idea of this book is to stop and look at the flowers-- to enjoy the journey not just the destination. show less

I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the illustrations in the book, I felt that the facial expressions drawn on the characters really illustrated how they were feeling and helped develop the tone of the story. But I didn't like the plot of the story. I didn't feel that the book really went anywhere; I did not pick up on any conflict, rising/falling action, etc. It kind of felt as though the story just was, there was no end goal. I believe the message of this story was the power of female relationships, especially those between family members.

I enjoyed this book because a young girl describes a road trip that she goes on with her Aunt. I like that the girl describes the simple things that they do that turn into special memories. For example, Johnson says, "we'll mosey down the back roads and talk to the farmers and buy their fruits. And if peaches are ripe we might get a bushel." (21) I like this because something as simple as eating peaches is special to her because they get a whole bushel to take on their road trip to North Carolina. If I could change one thing, I would make the story a little longer with more memories from the road trip to learn more about the states they travel through and why they are traveling. The main idea of the story is to always make time for show more family and cherish the time you spend together. show less

I have mixed feelings about this book, mostly leaning towards not liking it. I enjoyed reading it because the illustrations were well done and had so much detail in them that I could really picture the story in my mind. However my hesitation with this book is that I feel I did not get anything from it. To me there was no obvious plot; no conflict, no realization, just a road-trip. From the repetition of the phrase "Just Us Women", I was expecting there to be more of a tie in about some sort of female empowerment moment, or quite literally any other tie in. Sadly, one never came and I found myself confused and disappointed at the end.

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because it focused on the companionship between an aunt and her niece going on a road trip together. I liked how children can relate to the fact that there is always someone they want to spend time with and want to be influenced by. In the book there is a scene where the aunt and the niece are preparing supplies for the road trip. When packing the lunch, the niece decides to wrap their food “like my aunt did as a little girl.” I also liked how the illustrations are appropriate to the mood of the story. The illustrations had a shadow around some of the figures in the drawing to make the color of the characters’ skin stand out. This was shown more when they were show more cracking an egg. The background looked very bright while the hands looked very dark so that the hands and the egg were the main focus. But I didn’t like how short the book was and how there wasn’t a lot of detail to the events the aunt and the niece did. If I was going to use this in the classroom, I would have students write about a time they did something special with someone important to them and then have them illustrate that particular event. The big idea of the book is that you can make a bond with people other than your immediate family. show less

A young girl and her aunt plan a trip together to visit family at a distance. A very positive message for young girls about taking time for family, planning and executing an event and not needing men to do this. My favorite comment is that it is "just us women" even though the narrator is a young girl.

This story follows a girl as she takes a trip with her aunt. She describes special details, such as the fact that they're going to wrap their food "like my aunt did as a little girl" or that they're going to make lots of stops and "nobody will be there to say uh-uh". They have a great time just flitting about, eating dinner at a fancy restaurant and buying "as much junk as we want" from garage sales. You can really feel how much the two love each other and love spending special times together.

In feel, this book reminds me a lot of My Mama Had a Dancing Heart - you might try reading the two of them together.