One Big Open Sky

By: Jamie Steinberg

It is 1879 and Lettie and her family live in Mississippi. Her father, Thomas, wants to move the family West as he has heard there are more opportunities for black families in Nebraska – a place for them to own land. Lettie’s mother, Sylvie, isn’t so sure as this would mean she would have to leave her siblings behind and venture with three young kids into the unknown. Author Lesa Cline-Ransome’s book One Big Open Sky gives a realistic, journal approach of what life would have been like traveling on a dangerous trail looking for a better future.

Lettie is a smart girl who is tasked with keeping track of the accounting (monetary and events) while her family is headed towards Nebraska. Her father believes a better life awaits them, but her mother is not so sure. She would be leaving her siblings behind and the only safety they knew just to travel on a treacherous path with three children (Lettie and her brothers Elijah and Silas) with only a hope for a better life. Unfortunately, the road is not as smooth as Thomas thought it would be and the family struggles with food and supplies. The only good thing going for them is that they are not alone on this voyage as they have teamed up with several other families headed out to Nebraska as well.

While the diary entries by Lettie, her mother and someone I will leave unidentified (don’t want to ruin the storyline) truly do seem to depict the day-to-day struggles of life at that time, I felt there was not enough life and death circumstances shared. Yes, there was sickness. Yes, there were lives lost. However, there were a lot more dangers out there that are not addressed in this book. Anyone who has played the game Oregon Trail would know what families traveling in covered wagons faced. Regardless, readers will feel for Lettie and want her to become the educated and strong woman you can see awaits her in the future.

One Big Open Sky tells the wagon journey of a family looking for a better life. There is hope in each diary entry. There is truth and it chronicles the trials and tribulations along the way; however, I feel there are more realistic accounts of Black homesteaders in search of expansion and self-emancipation. Although, if you are looking for a middle grade story of survival and perseverance, this one is a good fit.