I'm always on board for books that explore lesser known parts of history. In this case we're looking at the westward movement of People of Color escaping the rise of Jim Crow laws in the south. As a verse novel it's more about impressions and emotions than events but still manages to deftly weave together three perspectives of the same events. Thought provoking more than thrilling.

One Big Open Sky is a novel written in verse. It took a bit for me to get into this saga of our early pioneers, but staying with it was worth the read.


The novel follows three individuals, : Sylvia, a mom, Lettie, her daughter and Philomena, a young woman taking on a new teaching job. The families traveling together are coming from Mississippi with hopes and dreams of prosperity and a new life in the West, where colored people are more accepted and where there are more opportunities for families of color to own and operate their own land. It's a long and arduous journey to North Platte, Nebraska, and the group encounters many hardships during the long journey.,


Sylvia, Lettie and Philomenia describe their personal perspectives of the journey and their thoughts on their hardships. During the trek across the land, wagons are attacked, food supplies run low, hazardous weather beats down, and friends and family are lost to death.


Philomena is a single: young, unmarried woman, seeking a new life as a teacher. She’s a mentor and role model for Lettie and some of the other children, and is not hesitant to speak what she thinks and encourages the young folks to do so as well.


Sylvia and Lettie; Sylvia is the mother of Lettie and her two brothers. Lettie finds and takes in a little dog named Sutter. I enjoyed the role the little dog played on this most difficult journey.


This book is a reminder of the hardships and sacrifices our ancestors made to etch out a better life as they settled the west.


This novel is a nice addition to any middle school library as a work of historical fiction set in 1879 as Black families traveled from Mississippi to Nebraska.

The cover is lovely and indicative of the beautiful landscapes they must have viewed while journeying.

I flew through One Big Open Sky! I've always enjoyed pioneer fiction and this book added an important perspective to the history of pioneering. I liked that this story didn't gloss over the hardships of traveling out west during this time period. Lesa Cline-Ransome does not shy away from death, illness, and wagon attacks. Although the author did a great job of highlighting the experience of pioneers, I wish she went into more detail about the Native American population at that time. I think this book would benefit with an informational note at the end about the history of pioneering and westward expansion. I liked that this book had three female protagonists. Each character brought a unique perspective to the story. I found Philomena's character the most inspiring. I will be recommending this book to patrons at my library, especially the hi-lo readers. Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, Holiday House, Peachtree, Pixel+Ink, and Lesa Cline-Ransome for the opportunity to read One Big Open Sky in exhange for an honest review.

This book is a hi-lo novel-in-verse, meaning it has high engagement and low readability level for readers. I read a ton of hi-lo, and this one was hard to get into. It didn't have quite the same rhythm as others I have read and took me a lot longer to finish than I expected.

The novel follows three women: Sylvia, a mom; Lettie, Sylvia's daughter; and Philomena, a young woman taking on a new teaching job. Coming from the Eastern states, they, among other families, seek a new life in the West, where colored people are more integrated and treated better, and where there are more plentiful opportunities for families to own and operate their own land. It's a long journey to North Platte, Nebraska, and the group encounters many hardships along the way.

The three women all share their perspectives of the journey and their thoughts on their hardships, including their wagons being attacked, their food supplies running low, hazardous weather, and loosing friends and family to death.

My favorite of the three is Philomena. She is a young woman, unmarried, really just seeking a new life as a teacher, but also learning she might be interested is marriage after all. She also proves  a mentor/role model for Lettie and some of the other children, not afraid to speak what she thinks and encourage the youth to do so as well.

The reader also gets to experience the mother/daughter relationship dynamic between Lettie and Sylvia. Lettie isn't the only child; she has two brothers too, though there is an emphasis on the power women can have without having to rely on men. Lettie finds and takes in a little dog, Sutter, and the relationship there is a special experience as well.

While not quite as easy to read as the greater majority of hi-lo's I have read, this novel offers a plethora of historical elements. It is a bit harder to picture or imagine some of what is going on in relation to the historical context, but there are certainly times, like crossing a river or braving harsh weather, where it is very evident the differences these people had to face in their travels compared to how the world is today. I actually really liked the end as well; it offers an insight into how people of color were viewed at the time, even in what might have been seen as a more liberal state, adding further weight to the importance of the historical elements in this novel.

This novel can make for a nice addition to any middle school library or even be taught in a middle school class. With guidance through the novel, there is so much for a young reader to learn.

Thank you so much to Holiday House and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Lettie and her family have a big change ahead of them as they start the trail from Mississippi to Nebraska to start a free life just for them. But the journey is long, it’s rough and not easy at all. Many sad and scary things happen throughout all to get to the promised land.

This was beautiful, harrowing, heartbreaking, and vivid. I was so swept away by this story and the wonderful characters we meet on this journey. I was expecting I would enjoy this story as I’ve read another book on this same topic of history and adored it, but I didn’t know I would fall so in love with this story and its characters.

Lettie our main protagonist a young black girl in 1879 tells us most of the story through her perspective, she starts off a very shy quiet girl with so much she wants to learn, so many thoughts in her head and so much sadness at leaving her beloved best friend behind. Throughout this journey she grows so much, she learns so much and becomes so strong and so brave. I really enjoyed her telling most of the story she was such an open girl, she had so many emotions and goes through so much loss in such a short space of time. She didn’t know once what was at the end of their journey but she loved her daddy and his dream.

We also met Philomena and Sylvia who were the other two protagonists sharing the journey from their perspective’s. I really enjoyed having their additions to it, learning their lives, who they were and how this journey was for them. Sylvia had to leave everything behind, she hadn’t ever thought about leaving and starting over, she hadn’t ever had to think on her own before, but after an accident she is left to be the lead caretaker of her kids and this journey , she becomes so much stronger even though she was heavily pregnant through the journey. Philomena who joins us further into the story is travelling to become a teacher, she’s always fended for herself, taught and worked alongside each other and become an independent woman. I really liked the contrast between these two and how they became family and helped each other so much.

This story told in verse was written so beautifully, it was stunning all the way through. I honestly really loved it from start to finish. I honestly could have read another load of it, of their journey as they tried settling into their new lives, of setting up their lands and how they grew and lived, but I suppose that would be a whole separate book. However I would read it as it would be as beautiful as this one was I’m sure.

This is such an important part of history, everyone knows about the Oregon trail but I’m certain not many people know about the black folks that travelled from Mississippi to Nebraska and the harrowing and long journey they all went on to find the promised land. This book is a perfect story for sharing that history, I think it’s a story that children studying history should read and should learn. I also think it’s suitable for anyone who wants to learn and enjoy reading about history to enjoy. It’s so beautifully done, it flowed well the characters were wonderful and it’s so easy to read.

A beautiful, poetic middle grade book with an important perspective. I really enjoyed this one for myself and recommend it!

This is an outstanding middle-grade novel in verse of a pioneer family journeying from Louisiana to Nebraska in search of a land to call their own and home.

A lyrical novel filled with emotion in the voices of three relevant women and perspectives.
Young Lettie is full of curiosity, and passion for learning, writing, and reading. She is always paying attention to every detail and taking notes.

Her mother Sylvia encourages her daughter to learn and write. Her wish is to become a woman of her own but she feels she doesn't have the courage. She supports her husband's dream of finding this new home.
And Miss Philomena, a young educated woman traveling on her own West to take a job as a teacher. She intends to be as independent as possible.

These black families will bet all on a treacherous journey against the elements and the cruelty of greedy men who attack them. They are brave in the name of hope and God.

The historical period is 1879 and their journey takes months. There are many historical references attesting to what the times were like. When it comes to defining the part men and women played.

Through Lettie (the youngest voice) we discuss the fact that women can't vote, they rely on a husband who secures, provides, and decides for them. But this journey proves that women are as strong as men or more and some do recognize their hard work and courage.

A story of family, found family, being there for each other, loss, and hope, with great dialogue true to their voices and characters. A great sample of a historically relevant period that in many moments is relatable still.

This book makes me think of the hardship they suffered on the road, many who perished became a grave on the path that would not be visited by their loved ones again. Also, there is always more we can learn and even the most educated ones continue to learn from the smallest things in life.

We understand that there was violence and death but it's appropriately and beautifully written poetically for young readers to take the emotion from it and not be exposed to the graphic part of it.

Because I've read an arc, I am going to say in my words some of the most important ideas(to me): the first is that to keep going we can't dwell on what stays behind, and we should look forward to tomorrow. We should always follow what we love because it's alright to dream, be independent, and fight for it. Last, those who are there when it matters the most in the darkest times holding us... are called family even when they are not of our blood.

Thank you publisher for the arc.

I’ll start my review by saying that I’m not a big fan of poetry, nor of multiple POVs, but even then I found this book to be surprisingly enjoyable. My favorite character was Lettie, because I found her POVs to be the most action and emotion packed, and Miss Pratt was my second favorite, because her POV was so different and added some emotional variety to the story. I like reading a few middle-grade books every year and I think this is a book that will appeal to a wide array of age groups and people.

This was a much needed narrative regarding the Black experience during westward expansion. I would’ve appreciated some acknowledgement of the Native experience during this time period but overall, this is a welcome alternative to Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

Cline-Ransome uses journal entries to tell the story of 10 families who leave their homes in Mississippi for the hope of land ownership and opportunity instead of share cropping and lack of respect that has become the way of things despite freedom from enslavement. Three women, mom Sylvie, her daughter Lettie and single Philomena, tell of hardships and joys of traveling by covered wagon to Nebraska and by the end, realize their own unique strengths and abilities that are sure to lead to success. Readers are sure to come away with added knowledge of westward expansion, the cost in lives and belongings when rolling over land and across water, plus the unique perspective of Black families on the dream of something more that so many had during the time period. The journal format plus the anticipation of the next exciting episode makes the pages fly by resulting in a book that should be enjoyed by most students in grades 4-6, even those who may struggle to finish novels. Would pair nicely with books like older Little House on the Prairie and Hattie Big Sky plus newer western expansion historical fiction such as Prairie Lotus and A Sky Full of Song to give middle graders a much more balanced look at the quest for land from 1800-1860. Text is free of profanity and sexual content and the one violent episode when bandits attack the wagon train is relayed clearly but without gratuitous blood-letting. Several in the group become ill or even die from the trials of the trail but details are not excessive.

I absolutely love Lesa Cline-Ransone's newest middle-grade novel, ONE BIG OPEN SKY. Written in verse and told from three different point-of views, this story follows Lettie, her mother Sylivia, and teacher-to-be Philomena. It's 1879 in Mississippi and Lottie, her parents and two brothers are heading west to Nebraska looking to own their their very first piece of land. However, nothing about this journey is easy or goes as planned. From not being able to board a boat because of their skin color to not having enough supplies for the journey, the family is met with one obstacle after another. Will this journey change our travelers? Will Lettie and her family make it to Nebraska? I can't wait to share this book with my students. Readers will be fascinated learning about this time in our country's history through the eyes of three strong women. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced digital copy!

In this very interesting middle grade fiction story about a black family - written entirely in verse - we get a historical perspective on events that we are more likely to have previously read about in a form viewed through a decidedly colour-coded lens.

Lettie's father Thomas is understandably resentful about having to work as a black sharecropper on a white man's land. When he hears that families like theirs travelling out westward will have their own properties to farm, he goes against all advice from their extended family members and takes his unwilling wife and children with him, to head for a new life in Nebraska.

The journey is perilous, riddled with shortages and hardship. The story is told from multiple POV, in women's voices, and that is a device that works very effectively. We feel their emotions as they struggle with new experiences, and get a glimpse of the traumas caused by institutionalized and internalized racism, social and family and hierarchies, and the patriarchal values which allowed a man absolute dominance over his wife and children.

This is an intelligent, moving and insightful read, which will be greatly enjoyed by readers from the target age group, while also providing them with unexpected insights into a neglected piece of history. Recommended reading.

One Big Open Sky
by Lesa Cline-Ransome
The westward expansion had many more nuances then given in the brief history of America. The idea that black families, moved from the sharecrop farming to the west is not well known. This book shows in a lyrical form the struggles, hopes and dreams of a family taking the promise of owning their own land, and finding finical solvency in Nebraska land grants. The journey has danger and hardship, with miss information causing problems, and sacrifice.

Middle grade historical fiction is difficult to find, and this gem of a book is a wonderful addition. The novel in verse adds a strong voice to the story, and the reader is instantly drawn into the emotion. 4.5 stars for this ARC from #NetGalley.

In this book that examines the Black homesteader movement, three women narrate a wagon journey west. There are food shortages, perils of the countryside, and supply issues. Beginning in 1879, there are also larger societal issues of slavery, racism, and patriarchal dominance for the women to consider.

Some strengths of the book include giving voice and story from an undertold perspective, novel in verse format, the story itself – it’s powerful, interesting, and engaging.

Some areas to consider are the lack of the indigenous voice and perspective and the cover of the book. What works on the cover: white letters and a broad title, big, blue background, author name across the top in yellow, and the dog by Lettie’s side. What might be improved: Thicker font for the title and the characters, who seem overly childish or overdone. The cover doesn’t quite match the story.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, this would be a great whole-class read for teachers or would make a great literature circle choice, as it provides a wonderful perspective to the westward movement.

Love love loved this ARC! Middle grade historical fiction is so important, especially histfic centered on marginalized voices. I could easily see an entire classroom unit centered around this book. It's fresh and relevant to modern readers.

This is such a moving story. Lettie is such a spitfire and fights so hard for justice and a better life for her and her family. Her mother is such a strong woman too.
There is so much hardship throughout this book, but it is a story that is needed.
The scenery throughout is beautiful, but we learn that it can help you or harm you.
These voices in this story are so moving and the writing makes you feel that you are there with them.
A story that everyone should read and learn from.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.