When is a rope something more than a rope? When it's a toy a child jumps with, and a tether to fasten belongings to the roof of a car. When it's a line for drying freshly washed diapers in a big-city apartment, and the means for starting new friendships, with jumping again. When it secures a young woman's belongings as she heads off to college, and when it's the heart of a story that ties one generation to the next. Jacqueline Woodson pays tribute to the generations of her own family and of countless African American families who journeyed north as part of the Great Migration, following dreams and establishing new lives while never losing sight of the past, in a narrative voiced by a contemporary child who recounts how the worn, frayed rope she has grown up with is part of her family's history. The finely paced, lyrical narrative is paired with shining illustrations by James Ransome. Honor Book, 2014 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 5-8)

Jacqueline Woodson--New York Times Bestselling, National Book Award and Newbery Honor winning author--writes a rich story of a family adapting to change as they hold on to the past and embrace the future. With Coretta Scott King Award–winning illustrator James Ransome.

During the time of the Great Migration, millions of African American families relocated from the South, seeking better opportunities. The story of one family’s journey north during the Great Migration starts with a little girl in South Carolina who finds a rope under a tree one summer. She has no idea the rope will become part of her family’s history. But for three generations, that rope is passed down, used for everything from jump rope games to tying suitcases onto a car for the big move north to New York City, and even for a family reunion where that first little girl is now a grandmother.