Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom

Tingle, Tim, and Jeanne Rorex Bridges. Crossing Bok Chitto: a Choctaw tale of friendship & freedom. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press, 2006.

Plot Summary: A young Choctaw girl, Martha Tom, crosses the Bok Chitto river to a Southern plantation. There she meets a young slave boy, Little Mo, and befriends him. The two become friends, and, eventually, Martha Tom helps save Little Mo and his family from the danger of the plantation owners that could lead to the separation of his family forever.

Critical Analysis: Crossing Bok Chitto, a Choctaw tale, shares a story of bravery and friendship that does not know the boundaries of race. This story is set before Civil War times in Mississippi. Tim Tingle’s storytelling skills shine in this poetically written tale. The illustrations by Cherokee artist Jeanne Rorex Bridges are full-page, culturally accurate, and beautifully created using acrylic paints. The colors are subtle, which ads to the somber feelings in the story.

This book contains many cultural markers, including clothing (worn by both cultures depicted), language, and religious and spiritual beliefs. The story also dabbles lightly in the subject of shape-shifting, which was a common belief among some Native American tribes. The story teachers somewhat unfamiliar information about the Native Americans assisting the African American slaves to freedom before the civil war. This book praises diversity, bravery, and friendship among those who may be different. This inspiring tale would make a great addition to any elementary school collection. The author includes factual information about the Choctaw tribe, including their efforts to assist the slaves, and the Choctaw style of storytelling.

Reviews:

Booklist: In a picture book that highlights rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage, a noted Choctaw storyteller and Cherokee artist join forces with stirring results. Set "in the days before the War Between the States, in the days before the Trail of Tears," and told in the lulling rhythms of oral history, the tale opens with a Mississippi Choctaw girl who strays across the Bok Chitto River into the world of Southern plantations, where she befriends a slave boy and his family. When trouble comes, the desperate runaways flee to freedom, helped by their own fierce desire (which renders them invisible to their pursuers) and by the Choctaws' secret route across the river. In her first paintings for a picture book, Bridges conveys the humanity and resilience of both peoples in forceful acrylics, frequently centering on dignified figures standing erect before moody landscapes. Sophisticated endnotes about Choctaw history and storytelling traditions don't clarify whether Tingle's tale is original or retold, but this oversight won't affect the story's powerful impact on young readers, especially when presented alongside existing slave-escape fantasies such as Virginia Hamiltons's The People Could Fly (2004) and Julius Lester's The Old African (2005).

Children’s Literature: Bok Chitto is the river that cuts through Mississippi and serves as the boundary between the Choctaw Indian nation and the plantation owners and their slaves. Martha Tom, a Choctaw girl, is sent to pick blackberries. Her quest for blackberries leads her to cross Bok Chitto. She knows of a stone path just beneath the river's surface. As she discovers blackberries, she also discovers another people living in the woods--the slaves. Little Mo, a slave boy, leads Martha Tom back to the river and learns of her stone path; the two become good friends. When Little Mo's mother is sold and the family fears separation, Little Mo realizes he can help by using the stone path that Martha Tom has shown him. The other Choctaw Indians help lead Little Mo's family across Bok Chitto and keep the guards away by appearing as ghosts. Tom Tingle, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, tells a very moving story about friends helping each other and reveals a lesser-known part of American History: Native Americans helped runaway slaves. The muted and soft illustrations done by Jeanne Rorex Bridges, a Cherokee ancestor, fit the story's time and place, particularly the river's muddiness. The notes at the end also provide useful information to learn more about the Native Americans in history and the background of the story. While, this is a picture book; it would make a wonderful read-aloud for middle elementary students.

Awards:

Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award, 2008-2009 ; Nominee; Grades K-3; Arkansas

Children's Crown Award, 2008-2009 ; Nominee; United States

Prairie Pasque Award, 2008-2009 ; Nominee; Grades 4-6; South Dakota

Sequoyah Book Award, 2009 ; Masterlist; Children's; Oklahoma

Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2008-2009 ; Masterlist; Texas

Volunteer State Book Award, 2010-2011 ; Nominee; Grades K-3; Tennessee

Connections: This book would make a great real aloud story for children of all ages. This story can be used when discussing Native Americans, folk tales, or slavery.

Check out the following books with Native American folk lore…

Goble, Paul. The legend of the White Buffalo Woman. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1998.

Harris, Christie, and Douglas Tait. Sky man on the totem pole?. [1st ed. New York: Atheneum, 1975.

Hillerman, Tony, and Janet Grado. The boy who made dragonfly: a Zuni myth. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 19861972.

Nelson, S. D.. Gift horse: a Lakota story. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999.

Taylor, C. J.. How Two-Feather was saved from loneliness: an Abenaki legend. Montreal, Quebec: Tundra Books, 1990.