The Clothesline Code: Celebrating Valentine's Day and Black History Month

I can't think of a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day (well, let's make it a week, shall we?) and Black History Month (let's make that year 'round, shall we?) than to introduce you to award-winning author, Janet Halfmann's, newest book, The Clothesline Code, released February 1.

From the back cover: "Lucy Ann and Dabney Walker didn’t have to risk their lives to spy for the Union army. The couple had already risked everything to escape slavery themselves."

This is a true story of a loving black couple, Lucy Ann and Dabney Walker, who found a unique and daring way to help the Union during the Civil War. Dabney was assigned to an intelligence unit in the Union Army. Lucy Ann was a camp laundress. As formerly enslaved people, neither had been allowed to learn to read or write. How could they sneak behind enemy lines and set up a system for communicating what the Confederates were up to? The clothesline code was born. 

Lucy Ann was the one who would go into enemy territory, learn Confederate secrets, and send them to Dabney, who would look at the clothesline and decode the message. Should they be found out, both of their lives were in danger. Suspense builds as the Walkers send messages back and forth. Readers feel Dabney's distress on days when messages don't come. Was Lucy Ann ok? Would their plan succeed?

The Walkers' determination to help defeat slavery demonstrates the power we all have in using everyday items, courage, and caring to change the world.

Halfmann's vivid writing and Trisha Mason's emotive illustrations bring these little-known heroes to life, engaging youth and adults. Halfmann says that she "strives to make her books come alive for young readers and listeners," and this book proves that she does. 

Find out more about Halfmann and her books here. Find out more about Mason and her art here.

I like Halfmann's writing so much that I have written about her work before here and here.

Halfmann proudly displays The Clothesline Code.

Brave Women You've Never Heard Of: Black History Month

To commemorate Black History Month, I'd like to introduce you to two brave black women you've never heard of--Lilly Ann Granderson and Sarah E. Goode.

In Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and her Secret School, author Janet Halfmann tells Granderson's story in this picture book biography from the time Lilly was an enslaved child working in the master's house. She played school with the master's children when adults were not watching. She knew that she needed to hide her learning, but her desire to learn was unquenchable. Illustrations by London Ladd show Lilly teaching reading and writing to other enslaved children. Soon people of all ages attended her lessons. All of them knew the risks they faced if caught, but they continued. Lilly's students went on to teach others, creating a ripple of education. Halfmann makes clear the difficulties and risks Lilly took to create a good life for her family and help others learn. The difference between being enslaved and free before, during, and after the Civil War is stated directly. The Afterword fills in the historical record, and selected references show readers Halfmann's scholarship and places where they can find more information.

Vivian Kirkfield's picture book biography of Sarah E. Goode, Sweet Dreams, Sarah, shows a determined young black woman in pursuit of a dream. In lyrical language, Kirkfield describes Sarah's childhood as a slave and her dreams for something better: "A husband, A family, A job that she loved." Kirkfield continues to tell how Sarah achieved all three by moving to Chicago after emancipation, marrying Archibald Goode, starting a family, and opening her own furniture store. That might have been enough, but Sarah was skilled with people and with woodworking tools. She found a need--to make room for more beds in small apartments--and set to work. The furniture in her story wouldn't work: "Too boxy! Too bulky! Too big!" But she had an idea that led to Sarah Goode being the first black woman to hold a patent. Kirkfield shows Sarah's failed attempts at creating a cabinet bed (a forerunner of the Murphy bed) and the denial of her first patent application. After those trials, her patent acceptance and sale of her cabinet beds were a sweet dream come true. The illustrations by Chris Ewald show Sarah in action and emotion, helping readers to feel the depth of her dreams and understand the difficulties of her challenges.The back matter fills in more of the story with an Author's Note, an explanation of what a patent is, and a timeline of Sarah's life.

Both books are good for the older picture book reader through adults because of  their empowering facts and emphasis on persistence in pursuing one's dreams. 

And stay tuned! Next week, I get to host David L. Harrison and tell you about his forthcoming book as part of his book launch blog tour!

Black History Month: Groundbreaking Entertainers

(photo courtesy Mason Crest)

My friend, writer Linda Armstrong's new book for children is out just in time for Black History Month.
African Americans in Radio, Film, and TV Entertainment was recently released by Mason Crest.

Linda agreed to answer some questions about how this book came to be.

Q: This is part of a series called “Major Black Contributions from Emancipation to Civil Rights.” How did you and this publisher find each other?

An announcement in a newsletter asked for resumes from experienced writers for upcoming nonfiction projects. I often reply to such requests. The project editor emailed me back with a list of possible titles. The series, Major Black Contributions from Emancipation to Civil Rights, also includes African-American Activists, African-American Artists, African-American Educators, African-American Musicians, African-American Scientists and Inventors, African-American Writers and Journalists, African-Americans in Business, African-Americans in Law and Politics, African-Americans in the Military, African-Americans in Sports, and A History of the Civil Rights Movement.

I took a couple of days to think about it, and replied that I would love to do the writers or artists, but by that time, those subjects had been taken by other writers. I looked at the remaining possibilities and settled on entertainers.

My husband and I grew up in Los Angeles. We were cinema addicts when we were in college and even wrote reviews. It wasn’t my first choice, but it turned out to be the best.

Q: Funny how that happens. With so many great choices, how did you decide which African Americans to include?

I started my research as many of us do these days, with Google. I took several days to get an overview of the subject. I also checked out every general book about African-American entertainers from Mesa County Library. This was kind of a flyover to get the lay of the land.

Of course, there were far too many exciting and wonderful stories to fit into one slender volume. I found that courageous and gifted African-Americans helped to shape entertainment as we know it. I chose a few to represent each stage in the development of today’s diverse media (stage, radio, film, and television). I chose both men and women, making an effort to highlight people who had made great contributions, but have been forgotten.

(photo by anniemullinsuk http://www.flickr.com/photos/craggy/561728039/ Creative Commons)


Q: I like your idea of getting a "flyover lay of the land." This was a huge undertaking. How did you go about your research, and how did you know when it was time to stop researching and start writing?

Yes, it was a huge undertaking, and, as you can tell, it was a team effort. The idea was assigned by the project editor. He determined the length and the general format. Having those decisions made for you is a good start. I knew the work would have five chapters. The first would be a dramatic incident to set the tone. I was familiar with this setup because of my experience writing similar books about Henry Ford, Amelia Earhart, and Jane Goodall for Hameray.

I was also familiar with layered research. I never could have done any of these books without the Internet, Mesa County Library, and quickly-delivered used books through Amazon. I appreciated the opportunity to read interviews in periodicals from home, order special materials through Interlibrary Loan, and devour dozens of autobiographies, hearing the “voices” of amazing people I could never contact in person.

(photo by bigmick http://www.flickr.com/photos/adwentures/273706419/ Creative Commons)
Knowing when to stop researching and start writing is tricky. During my overview period for a book like this I formulate an outline. Then, I set up folders for each section, including research notes and sketchy drafts. There is always too much at first. Once there is a folder for each section, I check the notes and write a rough draft. A writer friend once suggested typing in three Xs (XXX) whenever you encounter a missing detail in a draft. This works very well. You use Find to pick up each XXX, then look up just that fact. I must admit that the project probably could have stretched on indefinitely, but I had a short deadline.

Q: It's interesting to see how many people were involved in making this book happen and to see the general process you went through to write it. How did Marc Lamont Hill come to write the intro?

The intro is not just for my book. It is for the whole series. I don’t who arranged this. It was either the project editor or the publisher. It’s wonderful, isn’t it?

Q: Yes! Now, African American or Black? And your book goes back to the days of “Negro.”

Yes, it does. Next question. Seriously, the series title was chosen by the editor who contacted me. Dr. Hill uses the term Black Americans in his introduction. As an activist and national commentator, he is better qualified to answer that question than I.

Q: How did you secure photos for your book?

I used Google Image search to find possible sources and provided those links to the project editor. He arranged for the photos. They’re wonderful, aren’t they? Some image suggestions also came from the many autobiographies and general reference books I used.

That said, some nonfiction projects require the author to secure photo rights. It can be expensive. It is a good idea for a writer to ask about photo arrangements before the contract is written.

Q: Yes. I've known of projects that writers had to abandon because obtaining permission to use photos was too costly. What do you hope readers take away from this book?

I would like readers to notice and appreciate the media that enrich our lives. African-Americans had, and still do have, a tremendous role in the development of our culture. I would also like readers to realize the amount of courage, intelligence, and talent it took for the people in this book to persist and succeed. I would like them to be as fascinated and inspired as I was.

Q: What didn’t I ask that you wished I had?

I’d just like to say that at the time I wrote this book I didn’t see anything out there quite like it. It shows children how entertainment moved from the stage, to radio, to film, and then to TV. It also tells the story of what happened to slaves after the Civil War through individual experiences. For example, Hattie McDaniel’s father served in the Union Army and was wounded. After the war, he moved the family to Denver. He wasn’t able to work because of his injury, so her mother cleaned houses. Her father finally got the pension the government had promised him, but it was so little that eight-year-old Hattie and her brother made almost as much in one day singing and dancing at a carnival.

Here are Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel:


Q. Linda Armstrong, thanks for bringing this and other little-known stories to light in one volume!

Homesteaders, the Badlands, & Black History Month

(SD Badlands, photo by Jane Heitman Healy, c 2008)

When you think of homesteading, what springs to mind? Laura Ingalls Wilder, sod homes, prairies? Those would all be accurate, but did you know that South Dakota homesteaders included some blacks?


(Oscar Micheaux, SD Cultural Heritage Center)

One black South Dakota homesteader who went on to fame was Oscar Micheaux. He settled in Gregory County in south central South Dakota, just west of the Missouri River, in 1905. He lived there for eight years and wrote "The Conquest: The Story of a Pioneer by the Pioneer." He later wrote seven novels and was the first African-American to write, produce, and direct a feature length film--"The Homesteader"--in 1918. The city of Gregory hosts the annual Oscar Micheaux Film & Book Festival, completing its 15th year this past August.


More about his films can be seen here on YouTube.

A fictional account of black homesteading in the Badlands is The Personal History of Rachel DuPree. Written by Ann Weisgarber, who is white, the book depicts the harsh conditions, trying times, and tough choices of the title character, the wife of a former Buffalo Soldier, who felt that his claim to identity as an individual was in how much land he could acquire. The sacrifices they and their children made to survive and Rachel's spirit to overcome make this an interesting, haunting read. History, prejudice, and family life intertwine to give readers an understanding of the times and a look into a woman's heart.

Weisgarber says that the idea for the novel struck her when she toured the Badlands and saw a homesteader's sod hut there. "What if?" she wondered. The publication of the book took an interesting turn when it was refused by U.S. agents and publishing houses. She sent it to England, where it was published and received high honors. Then U.S. agents and publishers were interested!

Life in the Badlands is still harsh, but modern transportation, plumbing, and electricity are luxuries not available in the homesteaders' era. How well would you fare here? Me? I'm thankful for modern conveniences!
(photo by Jane Heitman Healy, c 2008)